Rita A.Widiadana, Denpasar – The classic picture-postcard views of Bali, with its gorgeous multitiered rice fields and toiling farmers, could soon cease to exist as more and more villag

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung – Ten-year-old Sururi helped his father unload empty containers and dozens of kilograms of fresh fish caught during two nights at sea.

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – An action by hundreds of people from Indonesian Farmers Youth (Pemuda Tani Indonesia, PTI) became heated when demonstrators broke down the gates and forced

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta – The importation of rice from Vietnam which is being done by Bulog (the State Logistics Agency) with the permission of trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu, has be

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Sumedang – Darya still tends to his sheep and crops on his land located along the edge of a slope which is supposed to become part of dam in the Jatigede area of Sumed

Hyginus Hardoyo, Jakarta – At the start of his presidential term a year ago, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to put the agricultural sector on top of his government policy agenda with

Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung – Recently, thousands of farmers took to the streets in front of the presidential palace to protest against the enactment of Presidential Regulation No.

Jakarta – Police arrested three people on Sunday for allegedly provoking violence during a rally at the State Palace against a decree on land seizures.

Thousands of farmers protest in the streets, carrying a large banner reading, "Land reform or SBY (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) resign", during a rally in Jakarta.

Semarang – Approximately 5,000 farmers in Central Java protested here on Friday against a controversial decree on land procurement for development projects.

Jakarta – The government has defended the controversial presidential decree that allows the government to forcibly take over privately owned land that has been earmarked for development

Jakarta – Non-governmental organizations are seeking public support to file a request for a judicial review of a new presidential decree on land which has widely been deemed as authorit

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Law Number 7/2004 on Water Resources continues to encounter opposition.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Rudy, a Banda Aceh resident, breathes a sigh of relief.

Dini Rahim, Washington – Food shortages in East Timor, two and half years after the territory achieved independence from Indonesia, are causing complaints that the government is paying

Bandung – Flooding in the past few days has damaged several thousand hectares of rice fields in several regencies in West Java, which will mean little or no harvests this season in the

John Vidal, Dili – The only way to reach the village of Fatuhei in East Timor is a four-hour hike over tropical mountains.

The government has set itself a target of raising exports of agricultural products to US$9 billion in 2009, or more than double this year's estimate of $3.7 billion, a senior official s

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – Dozens of farmers in Tungkalulu district, West Tanjungjabung regency, Jambi province, ran amok on Wednesday at an oil palm plantation, destroying several security p

I.D.

Nana Rukmana, Majalengka – The price of vegetable paid to growers has been declining in Majalengka regency, West Java province, over the past few months, sparking concern among thousand

The Indonesian government has ended a ban on the distribution of thousands of tonnes of rice – which had seen more than 1.5 million of the country's poorest people go hungry for the pas

Zakki P.

Semarang – Central Java: A severe drought has affected 14,399 hectares (ha) of paddy fields in Central Java, and more paddies are feared to be affected if rain does not fall soon.

The Indonesian government has sent a delegation, led by representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade Directorate General of International Cooperation Pos M.

Suherdjoko and Slamet Susanto, Semarang/Yogyakarta – The dry season has started in Central Java and Yogyakarta, leading to critical water shortages and serious damage to rice crops, off

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament has approved a new Bill that would allow plantation companies to cultivate bigger areas in the hope of bringing higher foreign exchange earnings, the Ag

Tangerang – Hundreds of residents attacked on Thursday the houses of Lontar village officials, who they accused of taking bribes to allow offshore sand mining to resume in the area.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – With the country's poultry farmers yet to recover from the devastating impact of bird flu, they now face a new threat: an influx of much cheaper chicken eggs and

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The National Police have sent another team to further investigate the recent shooting incident in Manggarai regency on the eastern island of Flores, which kill

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – An alliance of 23 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) joined force on Friday to call on the National Commission of Human Rights to carry out an independent an

Jakarta – Following mass rioting at the Manggarai district police station in Ruteng, East Nusa Tenggara, which resulted in the death of four farmers last Wednesday, the National Human R

Jakarta – Four people were killed and 27 injured when police opened fire Wednesday morning on protesting coffee growers in the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, a doctor said.

At least four people have reportedly been killed and 27 others injured after police allegedly fired on protesting coffee growers in Indonesia's eastern island of Flores.

Jakarta – Indonesian policemen shot at a mob and killed three people on one of the country's far eastern islands on Wednesday after protesters besieged a police office demanding the rel

Mark Colvin: In East Timor, thousands of people remain in the grip of an acute food shortage, and now face a bleak and hungry Christmas.

Kasparman, Padang – Hundreds of people in Padang, West Sumatra clashed on Wednesday with security officers over a housing dispute, causing 20 people to be arrested by the police.

Dili – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said Wednesday his government would implement a plan that would make the impoverished nation agriculturally self-sufficient in five years.

Tokyo – More than 4,000 Indonesians will join a lawsuit against the Japanese government, demanding compensation for a dam funded by aid from Tokyo and which they say has destroyed their

The drought may be finally breaking in Australia, but in East Timor continuing drought is causing severe problems.

The top leadership of the Indonesian military has responded angrily, making revengeful accusations against West Papua's leading human rights organisation, ELSHAM, for daring to accuse a

Tom Wright, Dili – Try to find coffee from East Timor, barely three months old as a nation, and you'll probably come up empty-handed.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – The government on Friday urged Indonesia to abandon any hope of retrieving assets from its former territory of East Timor, saying Jakarta's brutality and economic e

Geoffrey Barker – There are three forms of land title in East Timor, reflecting the country's long history of foreign occupation.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Freedom from injustice as a result of political reform in the country has proven short-lived for Indonesian farmers, who are now facing tougher challenges in the

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – As thousands of people displaced by the recent city-led forced evictions cry for help, their representatives in City Council are due to leave for the mountain

Emmy Fitri, Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso's plan to use more muscle to order the city, including evicting illegal squatters, will not solve his administration's many problems as he only l