Opening Ceremony Held for Bali Small Rice Farmers Support Project ～Improving Income through Participatory Food Value Chain Development JICA Grassroots Technical Cooperation Project

On February 10, 2025, Waseda University, a Japanese educational corporation, together with its local counterpart, Dwijendra University, held an opening ceremony for the JICA grassroots technical cooperation project “Increasing Income through Building Participatory Food Value Chain in Indonesia" in Tegalalang, Gianyar Province, Bali. The ceremony was attended by Ms. Mayuko Adachi, Deputy Consul General of Consulate General of Japan in Denpasar, and Ms. Sachiko Takeda, Director of JICA Indonesia Office.

While agricultural workers in Indonesia account for 27.52% of the country's total working population (2022/Ministry of Agriculture), two-thirds of the country's low-income households work in the agricultural sector, raising the income of agricultural workers has become a challenge. As the background, it has been pointed out that even if agricultural products are produced, the distribution and marketing systems are not sufficiently established. Therefore, in rice production, the challenges are to strengthen the organizational capacity of farmers' organizations that can jointly sell the rice they produce, to improve rice storage technology, and to develop stable sales channels.

This project was proposed by Waseda University as the JICA Grassroots Technical Cooperation Project and started in November 2024 on a three-year schedule. In Tegalalang, Gianyar Province, Bali, the project aims to strengthen the organizational capacity of farmers' organizations, acquire technology and knowledge on quality control for rice farmers belonging to the farmers' organizations, and secure sales channels for direct sales by the rice farmers. The project will also conduct market research to develop new markets. Through these activities, we will work to support small-scale rice farmers with the aim of establishing a framework that enables them to proactively participate in the food value chain system, thereby increasing their income.

The opening ceremony was attended by more than 200 people, including stakeholders of the project such as Waseda University and its counterpart, Dwijendra University.
Ms. Adachi, Deputy Consul General of Consulate General of Japan in Denpasar, said, “We will support this project through collaboration with Waseda University, Dwijendra University, and the farmers in Tegalang. As an agricultural country, Japan understands the importance of agriculture in Indonesia”.
JICA Indonesia Office Director Takeda said, “We are very pleased to witness the opening ceremony to start supporting small farmers in collaboration with Waseda University, one of the leading universities in Japan with a long history, and the region of Gianyar Province.
“We believe that this project will contribute to improving the income of farmers. As the government, we will continue to support this project.” remarked Mr. I Ketut Mudana, Assistant of Acting Regent of Gianyar.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Gede Sedana, President of Dwijendra University, said, “We sincerely welcome this project. Bali is well known for its agricultural traditions and it is a pillar of Balinese culture. There is great potential for packaging Bali rice with high market value.”

JICA Grassroots Technical Cooperation Project is an international cooperation activity conducted by Japanese NGOs/CSOs, private organizations, local governments, or universities willing for international cooperation, without regard to their own profit, for the purpose of assisting the residents of developing countries in the economic and social development or reconstruction of their areas. As mentioned above, this project was proposed by Waseda University and adopted by JICA, leading to the start of the project in November 2024.