WFF Indonesia Youth Chapter concludes the Indonesia Food Academy 2025

The World Food Forum (WFF) Indonesia Youth Chapter has successfully completed the first Indonesia Food Academy (IFA) - a six-months online training programme with over 100 young participants from across the country.

Launched on 6 April 2025, the programme delivered 12 virtual capacity development sessions on pressing challenges in agrifood systems, including sustainable crops, fisheries, livestock, forestry, food processing, policy and agribusiness practices. These sessions were carried out in collaboration with diverse agricultural stakeholders.

Academic partners included Malikussaleh University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Indonesia, Padjadjaran University, Brawijaya University and IPB University. Government collaboration involved the National Research and Innovation Agency and PT Berdikari, a state-owned enterprise. Community partners included the Indonesia Fisheries Union and Think Policy Indonesia.

Engagement with agrifood practitioners featured contributions from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Country Office in Indonesia, Sufarm, Kebun Hanif Regenerative Culture, PT Berkah Inovasi Kreatif Indonesia, Island Organic Bali, Indera Agri, Sinagi Papua and Eathink.

The programme concluded in September 2025 and on the final day, seven groups presented their capstone projects, showcasing locally grounded solutions to agrifood systems challenges in their communities. The presentations were reviewed by a five-member jury, who provided constructive feedback and selected the top three projects.

The capstone projects were:

Group 1: Resilient food for families from forgotten lands

Leveraging household yards in Kalimantan as productive agricultural spaces to respond to rising food prices, strengthen food security and support family livelihoods.

Group 2: Empowering organic horticultural farmers through refugia

Promoting bio-intensive strategy for sustainable pest control to support organic farmers and meet increasing demand for organic products in Bali.

Group 3: Healthy school canteen evaluation

Improving food safety, reducing food waste and supporting healthy food options in Jakarta’s school canteen through stakeholder collaboration.

Group 4: Local food and permaculture campaign

Engaging students to accelerate food security in selected schools in Yogyakarta through permaculture farming, biodiversity education and poster competition.

Group 5: Empowering small enterprises through spiced sugar innovation

Supporting local sugar enterprises in Banyumas, while responding to the growing market demand for healthy food and preserving biodiversity.

Group 6: Urban farming and food literacy in Pesantren

Strengthening food resilience while equipping students with farming literacy in Bogor.

Group 7: Green classroom: Integrating nutrition, education and sustainability

Integrating urban farming initiatives (Buruan Sae) into school curricula in Bandung.

Following the review by the jury, Group 4 was selected as the first-place winner, followed by Group 2 (second place) and Group 1 (third place). Group 4 was awarded an implementation grant of nearly USD 300 (IDR 5 million) to support the project, translating youth-led ideas into concrete action to advance biodiversity preservation and food security in Yogyakarta.

The six-month programme was implemented by the Chapter with the support of Japfa Indonesia, a leading agrifood company actively investing in youth-led initiatives. Looking ahead, the Chapter will continue to support youth-driven projects that advance more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems, while expanding collaboration across a broader network of partners and stakeholders.