Indonesia Aims Beyond Cocoa Bean Exports: INSTIPER Plans ASEAN-Class Cocoa Academy
From smallholder farms to global premium chocolate markets, Indonesia's proposed Nusantara Cocoa School aims to nurture a new generation of professional farmers, innovators, and cocoa entrepreneurs.
JAKARTA, November 9, 2026 — Indonesia is setting its sights on a more ambitious future for its cocoa industry. Rather than remaining primarily a supplier of raw cocoa beans to global markets, the country is seeking to become a regional center of excellence in cocoa education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia.
This ambition is taking shape through the proposed establishment of Sekolah Kakao Nusantara (SKaN), or the Nusantara Cocoa School, an initiative being developed by INSTIPER Yogyakarta with a long-term vision of evolving into an ASEAN Cocoa Academy.
The initiative was highlighted by INSTIPER's Rector during an event recognizing the progress of the INDOKAKAO Program. The event was led by the French Ambassador for Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste and attended by Indonesia's Minister of National Development Planning (PPN/Bappenas), alongside senior officials and INDOKAKAO partners.
The proposed academy represents a fundamental shift in Indonesia's approach to cocoa development. While success has traditionally been measured by plantation area and production volume, the new initiative places greater emphasis on human capital, technological capabilities, market intelligence, and the creation of higher economic value.
The underlying message is clear: Indonesian cocoa farmers must become more than skilled growers and harvesters. They must also understand markets, manage product quality, calculate profitability, and strengthen their position within the global chocolate value chain.
Transforming Cocoa Farmers into Professional Entrepreneurs
One of the longstanding challenges facing Indonesia's cocoa sector is the limited ability of upstream producers, particularly smallholders, to capture a greater share of the economic benefits generated by downstream industries.
Cocoa beans often pass through lengthy trading networks before being transformed into high-value chocolate products. Meanwhile, many farmers continue to face challenges in accessing market information, fermentation technologies, quality standards, and premium markets.
The Nusantara Cocoa School is designed to address these structural constraints.
Through an integrated educational approach, farmers will be equipped not only with advanced cultivation skills but also with knowledge of cocoa processing, business management, marketing, and strategies for improving their bargaining power within the value chain.
The initiative also aims to encourage generational renewal in cocoa farming while developing professional technicians, chocolate processors, young entrepreneurs, and future leaders of the cocoa industry.
More Than a School: An Integrated Cocoa Innovation Hub
Unlike conventional agricultural training programs, SKaN is envisioned as a One-Stop Cocoa Education and Innovation Platform, bringing together three complementary learning pathways.
The first pathway focuses on nonformal professional education, including intensive training courses lasting 3–12 days, professional academy programs lasting 10–12 weeks, farmer field schools, and competency-based certification.
The second pathway involves formal education through diploma and undergraduate programs, including D1, D3, and S1 qualifications, in collaboration with authorized higher education institutions. Opportunities for recognizing prior professional learning and experience are also envisaged.
The third pathway emphasizes innovation and business incubation. Planned facilities and activities include demonstration farms, fermentation laboratories, cocoa sensory evaluation, chocolate-processing technologies, digital traceability systems, market intelligence, and cocoa enterprise development.
Through this integrated model, participants would learn not only how to produce high-quality cocoa beans but also how to develop competitive products, access higher-value markets, and capture a greater share of the value created along the supply chain.
Linking Cocoa Entrepreneurship with Forest and Landscape Sustainability
Another distinctive feature of the Nusantara Cocoa School is its commitment to integrating economic development with environmental sustainability.
Cocoa agroforestry, climate-change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, carbon management, and community livelihood improvement will form important components of the proposed curriculum and practical training.
This approach seeks to position cocoa not merely as an agricultural commodity but also as a driver of sustainable rural development and responsible landscape management.
By integrating productive cocoa farming with environmental stewardship, the initiative aims to demonstrate that improved farmer incomes and ecosystem resilience can reinforce one another.
Sustainability is therefore viewed not simply as a certification requirement or a condition for accessing export markets, but as a foundation for the long-term competitiveness of Indonesia's cocoa industry.
Building on the INSTIPER–CIRAD INDOKAKAO Partnership
The proposed Nusantara Cocoa School builds upon INSTIPER's experience in international scientific and educational collaboration, particularly through INDOKAKAO, a joint initiative involving INSTIPER and CIRAD France, supported by the French Government.
The INDOKAKAO Program has contributed to strengthening capacity development, innovation, and sustainability-oriented approaches within Indonesia's cocoa sector.
INSTIPER Rector Dr. Harsawardana emphasized the importance of CIRAD's international scientific expertise and extensive professional networks in enriching the proposed academy's educational programs.
CIRAD's experience and connections across different countries are expected to contribute significantly to developing a comprehensive cocoa education system aligned with international professional standards.
Looking ahead, SKaN could also involve INSTIPER's Center for Sustainable Landscape Science (PSLB), the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), industry partners, and the Sustainable Agricultural Landscape for Southeast Asia (SALSA) network.
While these potential partnerships will require further institutional agreements, they offer opportunities to establish a collaborative cocoa innovation ecosystem linking universities, research institutions, private enterprises, and farming communities.
From Indonesia to the ASEAN Cocoa Academy
The Nusantara Cocoa School is not intended to remain solely a national training institution.
INSTIPER envisages a phased development strategy toward establishing a regional center of excellence in cocoa education and innovation.
2027–2028: Establishing the National Foundation
The initial phase will focus on curriculum development, pilot training programs, demonstration facilities, and professional competency validation.
2029–2030: Expanding ASEAN Collaboration
The second phase will strengthen regional cooperation through joint training programs, instructor exchanges, collaborative research, and cross-border professional learning.
2031–2035: Developing an ASEAN Center of Excellence
During the third phase, SKaN is expected to progress toward an ASEAN Cocoa Academy, providing a regional platform for professional cocoa education, sustainable landscape innovation, and strategic value-chain intelligence.
Regional expansion will prioritize collaboration with existing cocoa education and research institutions across ASEAN, strengthening regional capabilities while avoiding unnecessary duplication of institutional structures.
Knowledge, Not Just Production, Will Define Indonesia's Cocoa Future
The proposed establishment of the Nusantara Cocoa School carries an important strategic message for Indonesia's agricultural and plantation sectors.
In an increasingly competitive global cocoa industry, production growth alone will no longer be sufficient.
The ability to generate and apply knowledge, master technologies, meet quality standards, understand market dynamics, and develop competitive enterprises will increasingly determine who captures the greatest economic value.
Through SKaN, Indonesia has an opportunity to establish a new model of plantation education that connects farmers, universities, researchers, industry players, and markets within an integrated innovation ecosystem.
The future of Indonesian cocoa should not be measured solely by how many cocoa beans the country produces, but by how much knowledge, added value, and prosperity Indonesians can create from them.
If successfully implemented, the Nusantara Cocoa School could mark an important step in Indonesia's transformation from a raw-material supplier into a regional leader in sustainable cocoa education, entrepreneurship, and value-chain development.
Media Contact
Center for Sustainable Landscape Science (PSLB)
INSTIPER Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Contact person : Nina Mardati Lucian +62 8112631431