Farmers in Indonesia are ageing. This means the prevalence of disabilities, especially those related to mobility and sensory functions, is increasing. Routine tasks for farmers, such as gathering green fodder to feed their dairy cows in a backyard pen or reading the label on the back of a fertiliser bottle at their local agri-kiosks, become difficult.

This highlights the need for agribusinesses to consider how farmers engage with their products to ensure that farmers with disabilities can continue contributing effectively and maintaining their livelihoods. It also presents an opportunity to consider how all farmers with disabilities, not just ageing farmers, engage with agribusinesses to create more inclusive markets in which everyone can participate.

Earlier this year, PRISMA hosted a Petani Maju (Future Farmer) event called "Disability Inclusion in Agribusiness: From Awareness to Action" in Jakarta. The full day of activities gave agribusinesses the opportunity to learn from farmers with disabilities and share best practices for reaching farmers with a disability with products, services, and innovations that can increase their incomes. PRISMA, a partnership between the Indonesian Government and the Australian Government which boosts the incomes of smallholder farmers by increasing farm productivity, recently launched the Petani Maju campaign to support productive farmers and strong communities.

Farmers with disability often miss out as consumers on products and services that could improve their productivity. This is partly due to agribusiness outreach and product design not being designed with farmers with disabilities in mind and field staff not being aware of the barriers farmers with various disabilities face in accessing product information and services. The campaign helps agribusinesses bridge this gap by researching and targeting different customer segments to support inclusivity.

The event, facilitated by Pusat Rehabilitasi YAKKUM, a humanitarian organisation advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, drew participation from a wide group of agribusinesses, including animal feed and fertiliser companies, farmers with disabilities, and organisations for people with disabilities (OPD).

Pak Eko Harsono, Director of YAKKUM, emphasised the community's desire for actionable steps guided by their input, following the principle of "nothing about us without us."

“The importance of integrating disability inclusion in the agricultural sector cannot be overstated, especially considering that close to 50% of persons with disabilities rely on agriculture for their livelihood,” explains PRISMA Team Leader, Mohasin Kabir.

Today, 64% of farmers are over the age of 45 and 39% of farmers over 55 encounter vision, hearing, and mobility impairments.

Some challenges are more easily solved, such as applying “universal design principles” to product packaging and marketing. Universal design uses high-contrast colours and clear and large fonts to help farmers with vision impairment to read the product information.

This is especially important for getting dosage right for pesticides and fertilisers on critical crops like rice and maize. Other examples include adapting sales outreach. Agribusinesses commonly use local sales agents and supporting agents to reach farmers who may not be able to physically attend farmers' meetings. Learning how to adapt their outreach is something many agribusinesses are keen to do.

Some Guiding Principles

At the event, agribusinesses were guided through a step-by-step process to involve farmers with disabilities found in their accessibility guidelines, which were developed specifically for Indonesian agribusinesses. The process includes gathering data on disability rates in a particular area and organising in-person activities for educating and marketing to farmers, with a focus on making sure farmers with disabilities were invited and could take part.

The event also highlighted the important role of OPDs in breaking down barriers and connecting agribusinesses with farmers who have disabilities. Many OPDs have existing relationships with farmers with disabilities and can help connect companies with these farmers in a meaningful way.

“We need to shift the common paradigm that people with disabilities are beneficiaries of assistance, but to see them as the subject of development. Involving our community in this process helps to do this,” said Bapak Nugroho, one of the panellists from the Association of People with Disabilities in Klaten.

A Fresh Approach Yields Results

Nufeed, an animal feed company and PRISMA partner, shared its approach to engaging dairy farmers with disabilities.
“We must widen our horizons because opportunities are out there waiting for us,” said NuFeed Director, Pak Totok. NuFeed worked with farmers with a disability to create a demonstration plot for their animal feed product, DairyMix. The plot helps farmers see the product's benefits firsthand and in turn, set them up as local product champions.

By involving farmers with disabilities, Nufeed’s goal was to introduce the product, boost farmers' confidence, and increase overall sales. These efforts have not only widened their market but fostered empathy and understanding within their teams. “When we did this project, we talked with our friends with disabilities about what they need and how it matches our needs,” said Totok.

Their product, DairyMix, is designed to be affordable and suitable for smallholder farmers. It helps increase milk production and farmer incomes by providing a well-balanced nutrient mix, thus reducing the need for farmers to collect and cut grasses for fodder. This is especially beneficial for farmers with mobility issues.

With the help of the OPD, Nufeed connected with 10 farmers, including 5 with disabilities, in Boyolali, Central Java, for the demo plot. Out of the 5 farmers with disabilities involved, 2 have gone on to become local sales agents for NuFeed, improving their incomes and sharing the feed innovation with their local community.

Following the success of the demo plot, Nufeed held socialisation events to share the results widely and plans to continue the demo plot project. Again, this process engaged farmers with disabilities in attending.

Champion Farmer

Ibu Martini, a dairy farmer from Banyuanyar Village, participated in the NuFeed demo plot and is one of the farmers who has become a feed agent, selling the product locally to other farmers. Ibu Martini has had mobility issues since childhood, and using the animal feed, DairyMix reduces her family’s workload in collecting grasses for fodder while improving the productivity of her dairy cows.

“The training and resources provided during the demo plot have transformed our dairy farming. With increased use of Nufeed, our cows are healthier, milk production has increased, and daily operations are more efficient,” she shared at the event.

“As a feed agent, we can sell 6-7 tonnes of feed per month, which has greatly enhanced my family's income and proven that disability is not a barrier to success in farming.”

What Next?

Inspired by Ibu Martini and NuFeed's actions, agribusinesses shared their plans to develop more inclusive business practices at the event.

“We are impressed by the commitment from agribusinesses to adapt and change their approach,” says Mohasin Kabir, PRISMA Team Leader, “Hearing from farmers today inspired us all to look more deeply at how we can connect and foster relationships with farmers.”.

To date, thanks to PRISMA’s ongoing support, three agribusinesses have committed to developing more inclusive farmer outreach activities and eight agribusinesses have adopted universal design principles to improve the accessibility of their products.

“By broadening our perspective and adapting our practices, we can support growth that benefits not only the individual farmers but the agriculture sector as a whole,” adds Kabir. “It's about building a more resilient and diverse agricultural community.”

Learn how Indonesian agribusinesses can adapt their business practices in these Accessibility Guidelines Bahasa version and contact info@thepalladiumgroup.com for more.