TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Around 200 layer chicken farmers from various regions in Indonesia, united under the Rumah Bersama organization, declared the national self-sufficiency in egg production, which they claimed to have been achieved since 2024. They mentioned that egg production continues to increase, and even small-scale farmers independently open up new land and increase the population.
However, behind this success, they observed the absence of the government's role in maintaining market balance. "We have achieved self-sufficiency in egg production, but the government also needs to maintain a balance between supply and price," said Yudianto Yosgiarso, the Presidium of the Indonesian People's Poultry Association (PINSAR) for Layers, after the National Discussion of Indonesian Small-Scale Layer Chicken Farmers held in Solo City, Central Java on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
The farmers criticized policies that solely focus on increasing production, which in turn triggers inequality. Without regulations to stabilize prices and absorption, production surges become a threat to the sustainability of their business. They are concerned that this situation will continue to repeat itself if the government does not promptly improve the governance. "If the regulations do not consider supply and price stabilization, inequality will definitely occur in the field."
Hopes were initially placed on the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program as the main absorber of egg production. However, the realization in the field fell far short of expectations as the absorption was reported to be very low, even around one percent. Farmers also highlighted technical reasons such as children getting bored with egg consumption, which was deemed as inconsistent with the program's goals. "If the reason for reducing absorption is that children are bored of eating eggs, then that is very inappropriate," they said.
At the production level, the pressure increased when the egg prices at the farm dropped to Rp21,000 per kilogram from the previous Rp26,500. According to Yudianto, this decline occurred amidst the rising cost of feed and corn, which reached Rp6,700-Rp7,100 per kilogram. This combination eroded the farmers' margins and put their businesses at a vulnerable point. "Egg prices dropped, while feed and corn prices kept rising. This greatly burdens the farmers," he said.
Yudianto considers self-sufficiency not only as a production achievement but also a matter of food sovereignty that must be safeguarded. In their view, protection should be given to small-scale farmers, not solely to large investors. They urge the government to intervene through concrete policies to maintain the sustainability of this sector. "Maintaining food security requires thinking about who is being protected, and that is the small-scale farmers," he stated.
The National PINSAR Layers Manager, Suwardi, added that the complaint about school children getting bored of eating eggs was seen as an unreasonable and irresponsible excuse. "There are complaints that elementary school kids get bored if given eggs 3-4 days in a row. This should not be allowed to happen," he said.
Despite the farmers' high hopes for the MBG program to absorb eggs, the reality turned out to be the opposite.
Furthermore, Suwardi revealed that the absorption of eggs for the MBG program currently only touches around 1 percent. Moreover, the purchasing power of the population has also decreased. "The euphoria of the MBG, which was said to support food security, has led to our eggs being sufficient, but the buying power is low, the MBG's absorption is also not optimal, causing egg prices to plummet," he said.
He admitted that when requested by the government to maintain stock and food security in meeting the protein needs of children, the requirement was also initially to supply remote areas.
"The government hopes to maintain food security, egg stock, and increase the potential needs for children's protein, and the easiest thing is eggs. The price is also the cheapest, isn't it? There are some remote areas where distribution is indeed difficult, and we understand that," he said.
Aside from the MBG, farmers are pushing for the diversification of absorption programs, such as nutritional interventions for pregnant women and addressing high stunting rates. They believe these programs can provide a dual solution: improving public health while absorbing egg production. Without these measures, surplus production will continue to depress prices. "If absorption is not enhanced through various programs, this overproduction will continue to depress prices."
Nationally, he said, egg production has currently reached 18,000 tons or around 280 million eggs per day. While the ideal requirement for the MBG is estimated at 83.5 million eggs, the current realization is only around 70 million. This gap indicates the weakness in program planning and implementation. "Our production is already sufficient, but the MBG's absorption is not optimal, leading to overproduction," he revealed.
On the other hand, the weakening purchasing power of the population worsens the market conditions. The decreased circulation of money weakens household consumption, causing the market to be unable to absorb the abundant production. This situation creates layered pressure for the farmers. "Low purchasing power makes the self-sufficient production remain unabsorbed by the market," Suwardi said.
In response to these issues, Suwardi stated that farmers are requesting the government to take tactical steps, including increasing the frequency of egg consumption in the MBG program to two or three times per week. They also emphasize the importance of maintaining the reference price in the range of Rp25,000-Rp26,500 to ensure the sustainability of their business. Without intervention, they worry that many farmers will be affected. "We ask that the MBG use eggs at least twice a week so that prices can return to the reference level," he said.
Furthermore, the farmers also highlighted the need for the organization of the poultry ecosystem from production planning to distribution, and the limitation of the current large integrator's role, which is anticipated to be a counterbalance. Small-scale farmers are said to remain the backbone, with a dominant portion. "The ecosystem must be organized, with 98 percent remaining for small-scale farmers and 2 percent for the integrator as a counterbalance," Suwardi said.
The issue of egg imports also became the focus of the farmers. They affirmed that national production has been sufficient to meet the demand, and the main issue lies in distribution, especially in remote areas. With good coordination between regions, they believe supply disparities can be addressed without the need for imports. "We have been able to meet national needs, so there is no need to import eggs," Suwardi said.
Farmers believe that the distribution issue is more caused by the weak coordination and political will at the regional level. Yet, according to Suwardi, surplus regions can easily supply regions with shortages if distribution channels are facilitated. For this reason, farmers hope that the central and regional governments will promptly connect the supply chain. "It only requires political will to link surplus and deficit areas to prevent inflation and supply shortages."
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