Rural Development & Agriculture

Poverty in Indonesia is concentrated in rural areas, and more than half of Indonesian’s poor depend on agriculture for livelihood. In spite of national economic growth, millions of agricultural workers in rural areas remain entrenched in poverty due to geographic isolation and poor access to markets and services.

SMERU researchers routinely make field visits to rural areas to assess the efficacy of rural development initiatives and shifts in agricultural policy. In 2013, SMERU conducted an expansive study on the impact of PNPM-Rural in Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi, which found that in spite of barriers to access, village economies benefited from PNPM grant-funded infrastructure improvements