Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia aims to develop 151,554 hectares of coconut downstreaming areas in 2026 to strengthen raw material supplies, expand value-added processing, and support regional economic growth, the Agriculture Ministry disclosed on Wednesday.The target, backed by about Rp427 billion in funding excluding seed procurement, is part of the government's long-term strategy to build a stronger domestic coconut processing industry under the 2025-2045 National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN), according to the ministry's Directorate General of Plantations.”This year's target is 151,554 hectares with a budget of around Rp427 billion, excluding seeds,” Agus Rosyid, Agricultural Product Quality Supervisor at the Directorate General of Plantations, said during a webinar on coconut downstreaming in Jakarta.The planned expansion marks a sharp increase from last year's program, which covered 1,975 hectares with funding of approximately Rp10.92 billion.Agus said 28 provinces have been included in the coconut downstreaming development program, which provides farmers with coconut seedlings, organic fertilizers, and financial support for land preparation and planting.The initiative is expected to increase raw material supplies for processing industries, strengthen domestic downstream activities, and raise the value added of Indonesia's coconut sector.The ministry has also allocated around Rp154.38 billion to develop another 51,721 hectares of coconut downstreaming areas in 2027 as part of its longer-term expansion plan.Indonesia remains the world's second-largest coconut producer, with annual production reaching about 2.132 million tons, Agus said.The country's coconut plantations cover around 3.2 million hectares, with about 98 percent managed by smallholder farmers.However, national productivity remains relatively low at around 1.1 tons per hectare annually, well below the estimated production potential of 3.5 to 5 tons per hectare per year.Agus said improving productivity remains one of the biggest challenges facing Indonesia's coconut industry, alongside aging plantations and limited domestic downstream processing capacity.To support the development of an integrated coconut downstream ecosystem, the government is partnering with state-owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN), private firms, and Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara), he added.