Piloted by Kaleka and Gawi Bapakat, the programme has seen encouraging results after guiding oil palm smallholders in Central Kalimantan away from chemical-heavy inputs in favour of biologicals and organic materials.
It was launched in 2023 across four villages, involved 96 farmers and ten observation plots – six with regenerative interventions and four control plots.
After one year, the pilot has shown promising results, not just in improving soil health and productivity, but in shifting the way smallholder oil palm farmers understand what is best for their land.
A report on its first year revealed that the initiative helped to improve the soil, with early trends showing increases in average nutrient levels and a gradual recovery of overall soil conditions.
“Farmers adopting regenerative practices began to exhibit initial improvements in soil structure, higher organic matter content, and enhanced soil biological health, signalling long-term benefits as the system continues to stabilise.”
The soil also showed signs of more earthworms and beneficial bacterial, indicating that the soil was “more alive and resilient”.
By making their own organic fertilisers, farmers reduced their reliance on chemical inputs, thereby reducing cost while making the soil healthier.
Farmers also reported more consistent harvests, even during dry periods. This was attributed to better soil moisture and nutrient-holding capacity.
Vital improvements needed
While the results of the pilot have been encouraging so far, to grow beyond that and delivery real, lasting impact would require more effort on all fronts.
Speaking to AgTechNavigator, Anindya Prima Hadi, director of Gawi Bapakat, Kaleka, highlighted that several foundational aspects needed to be reinforced.
For instance, the concept of regenerative agriculture needed to be communicated to farmers regularly to ensure understanding.
“For regen ag to be scaled up and to have meaningful impacts, we identified several key indicators that must be improved. These include farmers’ capacity, the availability of large-scale organic inputs, stakeholders’ involvement, and good governance,” said Anindya.
One of the difficulties is not having enough organic materials to make their own organic fertilisers. This shortage can discourage farmers from producing fertiliser on their own.
For long-term adoption to take hold, Anindya said it was important to make organic fertilisers accessible to farmers, which would require local production.
“To support the consistent implementation, it is vital for farmers to have continuous access to large-scale organic fertilisers as an alternative to chemical fertilisers on their farms.
“Hence, the organic fertiliser production centre should be provided at several accessible points within the district. The centre will then be managed in collaboration between the government, including extension workers, village-owned enterprises, and communities, which play a key role in its management and operation.”
She added that farmers need more information and training about other organic materials that they can use and how different soil types affect fertiliser choice.
“Support for filling the knowledge gap on alternative organic input options and soil conditions is needed to enable farmers to choose the most accessible organic input option based on their local conditions.”
Crucially, it would need the district governments to enacting laws and regulations to support these goals.
“A strong commitment from a local government is a promising sign for the future of RegenAg,” said Anindya.
In Seruyan, a circular letter regarding the RegenAg practices has been disseminated by the local government to encourage multi-stakeholders’ involvement to support and implement regenerative agriculture practices on their farms, with a potential to be elevated into regional regulation, which has higher legitimacy.
Government support is already emerging with the Seruyan district government issuing a circular encouraging adoption of regenerative practices among all stakeholders.
This would have “potential to be elevated into regional regulation, which has higher legitimacy”, said Anindya.
More challenges
Additionally, the Seruyan district faces more challenges as it is highly vulnerable to flooding as a result of climate change and historical deforestation in upland and riparian areas.
“Flooding on farmland can reduce soil quality. Currently, farmers still rely on chemicals to neutralise the soil, but in the future, farmers can be trained to make organic soil conditioners to address this issue,” said Anindya.
