POULTRYINDONESIA, Jakarta – The directives of Minister of Agriculture and Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Andi Amran Sulaiman to protect smallholder farmers are beginning to be translated into a number of concrete measures. Within a week, the government held a series of coordination meetings to improve national poultry industry governance while safeguarding the sustainability of commercial layer farming businesses.

The measures began with the National Poultry Coordination Meeting led by Minister Amran at the Veterinary Farma Center (Pusvetma) in Surabaya on August 11, 2026. In the presence of farmers and industry players, Amran emphasized that the government would not allow farmers’ difficulties to be exploited by certain parties for their own benefit.

“There must be no games. We will definitely revoke their licenses. We will not give them any room. If we revoke a license once, as long as we remain in office, we will not issue an import permit to them again,” Amran stressed.

According to Amran, protecting smallholder farmers does not mean placing farmers and businesses on opposing sides. The government must remain in the middle to maintain balance so that both can grow together within a healthy poultry industry ecosystem.

“We care about businesses, and we care about small farmers. We are in the middle, figuring out how we can grow together,” he emphasized.

The directive was subsequently followed up through a Poultry Coordination Meeting on August 14, 2026. The meeting discussed issues spanning the entire poultry supply chain, from DOC distribution, production control, feed prices and availability, and egg marketing to strengthening data and oversight.

One of the main areas of concern was the distribution of Final Stock (FS) DOC for commercial layers, as stipulated in Article 24 of Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 10 of 2024.

Under the regulation, a maximum of 2 percent of FS DOC may be allocated for the internal needs of breeding companies or integrated businesses, while at least 98 percent must be distributed to external farmers. This provision is intended to ensure that layer farming continues to provide sufficient space for smallholder farmers.

Hary Suhada, Director of Breeding and Livestock Production at the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health (PKH), explained that Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 10 of 2024 was not drafted unilaterally by the government. The regulation was based on input from poultry industry stakeholders and had previously been discussed jointly.

“Minister of Agriculture Regulation No. 10 of 2024 is the result of input from farmers through associations and cooperatives, which we previously discussed together through a public hearing forum. So, these provisions were developed based on input from farmers and poultry industry stakeholders,” Hary said.

According to Hary, the regulation is part of the government’s efforts to establish a fairer poultry industry governance system while ensuring that smallholder farmers continue to have room to operate layer farming businesses.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also encouraging smallholder farmers to become increasingly involved in export markets. Indonesia is considered capable of supplying poultry products to a number of countries. Hary added that the ability to penetrate overseas markets demonstrates the capacity and competitiveness of Indonesian farmers.

Based on the series of coordination meetings, the government established four key areas of focus.

First, protecting smallholder farmers’ business opportunities. The Ministry of Agriculture has proposed including commercial poultry farming in the negative investment list. The proposal aims to control the expansion of new, heavily capitalized businesses that could potentially reduce opportunities for small-scale farmers. Investment and industry growth will continue to be encouraged, but they must be accompanied by opportunities for smallholder farmers to grow.

Second, controlling production in line with market demand. The government, together with associations and cooperatives, is encouraging the accelerated culling of layer hens aged more than 90 weeks. Implementation will be coordinated with associations and cooperatives, including through facilitating the absorption of spent hens by state-owned food enterprises in the form of carcasses. This effort is expected to maintain a balance between production and market demand, thereby reducing pressure on egg prices at the farm level.

Third, strengthening farmers’ business certainty. The government is encouraging prices to remain aligned with the Reference Purchase Price (HAP), ensuring the availability of DOC and feed, and strengthening egg absorption and marketing. Associations and cooperatives are also being encouraged to consolidate production and marketing in order to strengthen farmers’ bargaining positions.

Fourth, strengthening data and oversight. The Ministry of Agriculture is updating data on poultry populations, housing capacity, production, DOC distribution, as well as national egg production and absorption. Oversight of FS DOC distribution, including its movement across regions, will also be strengthened through coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture, relevant ministries/agencies, and local governments.

The data updates are necessary to ensure that policies are formulated based on actual conditions in the field, including demand, production, distribution, and potential imbalances in supply between regions.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also encouraging farmers to continue conveying their concerns through associations and cooperatives as official communication channels. Feedback from the field will be used in policy evaluations so that government measures remain aligned with the challenges faced by farmers.

These measures are not solely intended to address short-term price volatility. The government is also beginning to improve poultry industry governance through production controls, greater certainty over inputs, market strengthening, distribution oversight, and protection of business opportunities for smallholder farmers.

Within a week, Minister Amran’s directives have been translated into a series of coordination meetings and concrete measures whose implementation in the field will need to be closely monitored. The objectives are to safeguard smallholder farmers’ business opportunities, provide greater certainty for industry players, and ensure the sustainable production of animal protein in Indonesia.

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