To mark World Food Day 2025, Bank DBS Indonesia worked with multiple partners to support national food security in line with this year's theme, Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future.
Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications PT Bank DBS Indonesia Mona Monika said, “The theme of Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future reflects the importance of collaboration in creating fair and sustainable access to food for all. As a bank committed to ESG principles, we want to act as a catalyst in strengthening the food supply chain, improving the welfare of farmers, driving the green economy in the agricultural sector, and increasing equitable access to nutritious food. This is the tangible manifestation of our sustainability pillar, Impact Beyond Banking.”
As part of its vision to be the Best Bank for a Better World, Bank
DBS Indonesia believes that a sustainable food future can only be
achieved through cross-sector collaboration between the financial
sector, the government, businesses, communities, and the general
public. Through various green financing initiatives, support for agritech
startups, and social programmes held jointly with DBS Foundation, Bank
DBS Indonesia plays an active role in building a resilient, inclusive,
and competitive food system:
- The FEAST (Flores Empowerment for Agricultural Sustainability and Transformation) programme, held in collaboration with Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial, equips farmers with climate-smart agricultural practices, financial literacy, and nutritional knowledge. A total of 40 village champions have been trained to assist 1,600 smallholder farmers (half of them women) in eight districts in Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT).
They take part in 50 climate field school sessions and test climate-smart agriculture methods in demonstration farm plots. Additionally, the programme provides nutrition education for 4,000 farming families to improve their knowledge and nutritional status. The programme will be expanded to all districts in Flores within the next 2-3 years.
- Green financing in the form of blended finance for Adena Coffee to nurture coffee farmers and increase coffee bean production in a sustainable manner, as well as to develop software to support compliance with the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
In addition, Adena Coffee will establish a Multipurpose Production and Training Centre by building new wet mill and fermentation facilities to train farmers in the proper application of wet processing and fermentation methods, ensuring consistent and high-quality yields; and conduct six capacity-building sessions for 500 small-scale coffee farmers in Gayo, Flores, Bali, and West Java.
- The Food Rescue Warrior programme, held in collaboration with FoodCycle Indonesia and DBS Foundation. From January 2024 to September 2025, the programme saved 1.36 million kg of surplus food from 155 partner hotels, restaurants, and plantations. Of the total, more than 600,000 kg was edible and packaged into more than 3 million food packages for 128,000 recipients.
The programme succeeded in reducing the food insecurity rate from 77% to 36% in 17 months, according to a FoodCycle survey of a sample of recipients. Additionally, more than 700,000 kg of food waste were processed into animal feed and compost fertiliser at the urban farm developed under this programme. Education on the circular food system was also actively provided for the community at the urban farm to raise awareness about sustainable food security.
Food waste management is also very crucial for food sustainability.
- Magalarva, a social impact company and a recipient of the DBS Foundation Grant 2023, has made a significant impact on food waste management over the past two years. Food waste processing volume increased to nearly 3,000 tonnes per year, double the amount of the previous year. This has also reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 9,000 tonnes.
Founder & CEO Magalarva Rendria Labde said, “Since partnering with DBS Foundation, we have been able to accelerate the transformation of our waste management system. We have now increased our food waste processing capacity by 66%, improved efficiency through waste sorting units and a new operational fleet, and opened up export opportunities to more countries. The impact is being felt by both the environment and the economy.”
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance.