The menace of food crisis encountered by countries including Indonesia forces a region to increase its independence on local-based food. Indonesia’s government develops a program titled KRPL (Kawasan Rumah Pangan Lestari/ Everlasting Food-Housing Region) as a movement to support environment-friendly food needs in local regions. Unfortunately, the empowerment of female farmers group hasn’t been maximal due to gender-problems.This article analyses the institutionsin KRPL program in empowering women to improve the local-wisdom based village-food independence. The research was conducted in Karanganyar regency, Indonesia. The primary data were collected by using interviews to informants, including female-farmers group members and the program manager. The secondary data were collected through documentation studies. The data analysis employs Naila Kabeer’s gender-analysis model covering five aspects, i.e.: women empowerment analysis, the right and control analysis of women towards sources, institution roles, gender responsive program and the factors causing the program to succeed. The research result shows that: (1) the empowerment of female farmers group hasn’t been optimal in actualizing the local-wisdom based village-food independence; (2) women have got access towards resources but still haven’t got sufficient control; (3) the institution role is still limited at the state and family level, whereas the support of market and the society is still limited; (4) the responsiveness of KRPL program is just limited to determining women as the target of the program and still hasn’t integrated gender into all program dimensions; (5) ideology about gender influences the empowerment of femalefarmers
group in improving local-wisdom based village-food independence. The research concludes that the empowerment of female-farmers group in KPRL program in increasing the local-wisdom based village-food
independence has not been maximal. State institutions and family have played their role in empowering women, whilst market institutions and society merely played little role. This research recommends the necessity of gender ideology deconstruction in the society and program manager and therefore this can increase women’s control on program resources.
Keywords: empowerment, female-farmers group, institutions, local-wisdom based village-food independence, Naila Kabeer