Coffee Plantations in Indonesia: Its History and Economic Contribution

The plantation sector in Indonesia is an important sector in the country's foreign exchange earnings. One of the plantations that contributes greatly is coffee plantation. Indonesia's geographical location is indeed very suitable for growing coffee because the microclimate is ideal for coffee growth and production. Even today, Indonesia ranks fourth largest in the world in terms of coffee production. Coffee in Indonesia has a long history and plays an important role because of its contribution to the country's economy. Let's take a look at the discussion below.

History of Indonesian Coffee

Quoted from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) website, coffee was first introduced in the archipelago by the Dutch. Precisely during the Forced Cultivation or Cultuurstelsel era around 1830 to 1870 ago. Initially, these coffee trees were planted around their territory in Batavia. However, coffee production quickly expanded to Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

The type of coffee developed in Indonesia is the arabica type from Yemen. Until the early 20th century, coffee plantations in Indonesia began to be attacked by pests that almost destroyed all arabica coffee plants.

Finally, the Dutch colonial government decided to replace stronger coffee types to avoid pest attacks, namely Liberica and Exelsa coffee. However, not so long ago both were also attacked by pests until Robusta coffee finally replaced Liberica coffee.

At that time the Dutch developed infrastructure to facilitate the coffee trade. Precisely in Central Java there is a railroad line that is used to transport coffee, sugar, pepper, tea and tobacco and then transported by ship. Coffee grown in Central Java is generally arabica coffee.

Arabica coffee is produced in plantations such as Bondowoso, East Java. Robusta coffee in East Java is produced in Kediri, Malang and Banyuwangi. After independence, many coffee plantations were abandoned and then taken over by the new government.

Currently, Indonesia's coffee plantations cover a total area of approximately 1.24 million hectares, with the following breakdown.

• 933 hectares of robusta coffee plantations
• 307 hectares of arabica coffee plantations

Indonesia's total coffee production according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2019 amounted to 742 thousand tons with the following details.

• 98.6 percent of the total production was produced by smallholder coffee plantations (731.6 thousand tons)
• 0.8 percent was produced by large state plantations (5.6 thousand tons)
• 0.6 percent was produced by large private plantations (4.4 thousand tons)

Types of Coffee

There are 2 main types of coffee bean plants, namely arabica coffee and robusta coffee. Quoting from the repository.ub.ac.id page, here is the discussion.

1. Arabica Coffee Beans

Arabica coffee is one of the traditional types of coffee with the best taste. These coffee beans originate from Ethiopia, but have now been cultivated in various regions ranging from Latin America, Central Africa, East Africa, India, to Indonesia. Generally, this coffee is grown in tropical or subtropical countries.

2. Robusta Coffee Beans

Robusta coffee originated in Congo and was first discovered in 1898. Robusta coffee tastes more bitter, slightly sour, and contains much more caffeine than arabica. Robusta coffee is widely grown in West Africa, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. In general, robusta coffee is relatively cheap because it is more resistant to pests and diseases.

Contribution of Coffee Sales to the Economy

Coffee is one of the country's foreign exchange earning sectors. Citing the Thesis on the Role of the Coffee Industry in the Indonesian Economy by Lestari Dian Ayu published, coffee plantations play an important role in the development of the plantation industry. Indonesia's total coffee production reached 660,000 tons in 2019-2022 and ranks fourth as the largest coffee producing country in the world.

The role of the coffee industry in the structure of the Indonesian economy is quite large. Based on research, it is proven that coffee plantations are able to influence the level of community income. In addition, coffee plantations play a role in maintaining environmental sustainability, as the origin of raw materials for the food or beverage industry, and providing employment through processing, marketing, and export and import trade activities.

According to the Directorate General of Plantations, quoted from the researchgate.net website, the coffee plantation sector is estimated to be one of the primary sources of income of 1.84 million farmers in remote areas.

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