Closed Discussion
Prospects for Indonesia-US Digital Technology Cooperation
in Agriculture

Jakarta, September 12th 2025

According to the plans of the Directorate General of American and European Affairs, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the 4th Indonesia-U.S. Bilateral Digital Technology Dialogue in Chicago, USA, in November 2025. The meeting aims to support the Indonesian government’s Asta Cita program related to food security through exploration and promotion of various potential areas of direct cooperation between Indonesia and the US, including technology, investment, and research collaboration in the field of agriculture.

A limited discussion was held in a hybrid format, both online and offline, on Friday, September 12th 2025, at the Diplomacy Canteen Meeting Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jl. Taman Pejambon No. 6, Central Jakarta. The purpose of the discussion was to gather opinions on the prospects for Indonesia-U.S. digital technology cooperation in the field of agriculture as preparation for the 4th Indonesia-U. S. Bilateral Digital Technology Dialogue. The discussion was attended by representatives from the government (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, National Economic Council, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesian Quarantine Agency, Ministry of BUMN, National Food Agency, BRIN), academics (Faculty of Agriculture, IPB; Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, UGM; Faculty of Agriculture, UNIBRAW; Food Engineering Program, ITB), associations (APPERTANI, PERAGI, PATPI), and state-owned enterprises (ID Food, PT Perkebunan Nusantara, PT Sang Hyang Sri, Perum BULOG).

From the presentation on the 4th Indonesia-U.S. Bilateral Digital Technology Dialogue on Agriculture and the discussion, the following topics for cooperation were proposed:

1. Collaboration proposals focus on opportunities to utilize AI technology in all agricultural production processes (pre-on-post production) to support food and energy security;
2. Learning from the success stories of cooperatives in the United States (US), to be applied in Indonesia, mainly in the provision of seeds, financing, and marketing for smallholder farmers;
3. Mapping 10 products needed by the US, including cocoa, coffee, rubber, tea, and pineapple;
4. Caution is needed in developing GMO products from the US or those produced domestically using US technology, due to the possibility of environmental changes
5.   Cooperation with gene sequencing technology suppliers such as Ilumina to ensure smooth operations and cheaper supplies of materials for equipment set up in Indonesia;
6. Collaboration in assembling varieties with genome editing (Wilmar, Syngenta, Corteva) and joint product development in accordance with US industry standards, such as developing coffee in accordance with Starbucks quality standards;
7. Development of the food sector in terms of narrow land ownership and elderly farmers;
8. Development of supply chains to reduce agricultural production costs;
9. Maintaining soil fertility and soil health by minimizing external inputs such as chemical fertilizers;
10. Formulating agricultural cooperation strategies for products that have export and/or import potential;
11. Adopting technologies to increase cocoa, rubber, and palm oil production focuses more on intensification to boost productivity rather than expanding acreage to reduce deforestation;
12. Good agricultural practices (GAP) for downstreaming leading products, adapting superior varieties of wheat, soybeans, corn, and also superior varieties of GMO rice, golden rice;
13. Modification of agricultural machinery according to the characteristics of agricultural land in Indonesia;
14. Building/opening access to capital, markets, and technology;
15. Education on healthy eating patterns;
16. Smart soybean farming;
17. Deep irrigation;
18. Palm oil disease detection;
19. Integrated agricultural information systems;
20. Access to agroclimatic data;
21. Collaboration in soil conditioner research;
22. Adaptation of precision farming;
23. Transplanter for deep tillage;
24. Apprentice in food processing such as synthetic coconut oil/water production;
25. Facilitating the procurement of necessary production equipment and agricultural industries.

The second meeting will still be held to give the relevant parties the opportunity to enrich their input on cooperation.