Closing Indonesia’s Sugar Yield Gap: Reconstructing Farm-to-Mill Productivity from Historical Highs toward a Competitive, Digital, and Climate-Resilient Sugarcane System

Abstract

Indonesia’s sugar industry faces a persistent productivity gap between contemporary performance and the much higher yields historically reported for Java. This qualitative literature review synthesises recent peer-reviewed evidence published mainly during 2020–2026 to explain that gap through an integrated farm-to-mill perspective. Rather than equating productivity with cane tonnage, the review conceptualises realised sugar yield per hectare as the combined outcome of cane biomass yield, recoverable sucrose concentration, post-harvest quality retention and factory recovery. Evidence across agronomy, genetics, water and soil management, ratoon systems, crop protection, mechanisation, digital agriculture, logistics and farm institutions indicates that losses accumulate across the value chain. Key constraints include weak varietal adaptation, uneven planting-material quality, water stress, inefficient nutrient use, ratoon decline, disease pressure, machinery-induced compaction, delayed cut-to-crush times, variable milling performance, credit constraints and fragmented farmer–mill coordination. Remote sensing, machine learning, precision irrigation, controlled traffic, improved breeding and integrated nutrient management can raise productivity, but their effects depend on sequencing and institutional capacity. The review proposes an integrated transformation architecture in which foundational agronomy precedes operational integration, digitalization and frontier innovation. Sustainable gains in Indonesia’s sugar yield therefore require coordinated improvements across farms, logistics, mills and enabling institutions rather than a single technology or headline productivity target.