Indonesian farmers are throwing their crops into rivers or giving them away for free after sales were decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Footage from East Java shows the disheartened farmers launching their rotting crops from a bridge into the river after restrictions forced markets to close.

In the video, one farmer says: "Due to lockdown, all vegetables are discarded. All do not eat vegetables."

One of his companions can be heard saying: "Vegetables don't sell. They are all thrown into the river. No one eats vegetables but eats rice."

Meanwhile in another video from Kedungrejo village, East Java, several farmers were handing out free vegetables to motorists who were stuck in traffic on May 15.

In the video, the farmers take vegetables from the transport car and give it to the driver without asking for payment.

An official at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture claimed to have coordinated with officers from the Agriculture Office in East Java. He also confirmed the reason for the unusual actions of these farmers.

Prihasto Setyanto, Director General of Horticulture at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, said: "The market is closed there. So they cannot sell their vegetables, they are forced to throw them away. The market is closed due to lockdown."

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a food strategy in facing corona impacts.

These strategies include ensuring the availability of 11 main food buffer stocks, providing labour intensive assistance, providing seed and seedlings assistance to farmers, and collaborating with startup companies to support food availability.