The intersection of environmental breakdown, climate change and economic instability has emerged as a primary threat to the resilience of smallholder farmers in Indonesia, according to researchers and local entrepreneurs who spoke at a recent convention.
During the 2026 Asia Grassroots Forum, held in Jakarta on June 3 and 4, Alex Arnall, an associate professor for environment and development at the University of Reading, U.K., said climate change has become an “agent of exclusion,” creating a “double exposure” for farmers who must simultaneously navigate global market volatility and erratic weather. The Asia Grassroots Forum focused on building sustainable business ecosystems for smallholders.
Previous research showed extreme weather events can affect farmers in southeast Asia by damaging crops, agricultural infrastructure like irrigation systems and farm equipment, and by increasing operational costs and reducing revenues. A 2024 report found that every 1% increase in average temperature raises the price of food production by 1% to 2% across Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Researchers have also noted that smallholder farmers in the region face a massive financing gap, with less than one-third of the $100 billion needed annually for climate-smart adaptation, leaving them in urgent need of better access to credit, insurance and targeted financial support
Drawing on his work with salt farmers in Thailand, Arnall described how even highly-skilled, traditional producers are seeing their knowledge “undermined” by sea-level rise and coastal change. “Farmers in many places … are losing trust in the weather patterns as they become more unpredictable,” Arnall said.
Michelle Arsjad, CEO of the seaweed biotechnology company AquaBloom, said at the panel that she’s seen the impacts of climate change on two vulnerable groups: Seaweed farmers and land-based farmers.
Mongabay previously reported that unpredictable monsoon winds and unusually warm waters trigger bacterial infestations that attack commercially valuable Eucheuma cottonii seaweed. Farmers are then forced to harvest the seaweed prematurely, which fetches a significantly lower price at the market, trapping them in a cycle of shrinking yields and lower revenues.
For land farmers, Asrjad said the crisis is equally unpredictable. She said land farmers increasingly “don’t believe in seasons anymore,” struggling to protect staple crops like rice and chili from drought during monsoons and heavy rainfall during dry seasons.
For Arsjad, the role of a modern agricultural business like hers is to act as a buffer against the intersecting shocks from climate change and price volatility. So, AquaBloom utilizes seaweed-based biostimulants to help crops resist climate-induced stress, which increases yields by 20–30%, she said. This approach supports farmers whose local knowledge is being rendered obsolete by shifting climates, according to Arsjad.
Banner image: Panelists sit during a discussion on how to build inclusive agriculture at scale. Michelle Arsjad (second from left) and Alex Arnall (third from left) are among the speakers. Image by Naina Rao.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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