Indonesian agribusiness incubator development : program review and recommendations

The programs, which provide young farmers (up to age 35) with formal and practical training in farming technology and entrepreneurship, have already shown many beneficial results. Yet the incubators are embryonic. They need to target not only small, young farmers but a wide range of entrepreneurs and enterprises, so that farmers are linked to the entire spectrum of activities in the agribusiness sector. They also need to include more of the features that have been exhibited by successful incubators around the world, e.g., (1) facilities and equipment which can be shared by several agribusinesses, (2) more support services (access to financing and market information, and more help in establishing processing or trading enterprises), and (3) identification or establishment of private sector support service networks. Badan Agribisnis and its incubators are not isolated projects; they should be linked to other Indonesian incubator programs and to the recently formed Indonesian Incubator Association. Finally, since the time horizon for business incubation is at least 5 years, Badan Agribisnis should continue to fund all five projects.