THE government’s move to use climate change as an excuse for the failure of food self-sufficiency cannot be justified. It should spur efforts and spur the desire of policy makers to do more, instead of giving up and continuing to blame the situation.
Moreover, climate change is not only felt by Indonesia. All countries on earth face the same problem. However, not a few countries have succeeded in securing food for domestic interests. In fact, some of them are able to supply food to other countries.
Researcher from the Center of Reform on Economic (CoRE) Indonesia Eliza Mardian said the government should be able to learn from many countries that have succeeded in achieving food self-sufficiency. China, for example, in 2023 managed to increase rice production despite being hit by severe drought and the amount of planting area decreased.
That is because the government in the Bamboo Curtain Country makes food matters a state priority. In the agricultural sector, China applies adaptive and drought-resistant technology. Irrigation management is also well designed so that it plays a crucial role.
“Food issues in Indonesia have never been taken seriously. The agricultural sector’s approach focuses on the welfare of small-scale farmers, not corporations. Because if it’s a corporation, farmers will still be laborers,” said Eliza.
Lessons for the government can also be learned from last year’s El Nino. When national rice production plummeted, several regions actually experienced an increase in production because the price of grain increased.
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That point, Eliza said, should make policy makers aware that farmer satisfaction and welfare are also important to encourage increased production. “So if you want food self-sufficiency, the first thing you must prioritize is farmer welfare,” she said.
So far, he added, existing programs have not made farmers independent and able to innovate for expansion. This is also inseparable from the problem of limited land ownership.
At least, 51% of poor households work in the agricultural sector. While the current agricultural sector policy is still not in favor of farmer welfare. Farmers of small land with an area of less than 0.5 hectares last year increased by 2.8 million households compared to 2013.
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Thus, the total number of small-land farmers in 2023 will reach 16.89 million farmer households or equivalent to 62% of the total farmer households. The narrow land and lack of application of this technology cannot achieve economic scale and encourage increased farmer welfare.
“With limited land ownership, farmers must get additional income from non-agricultural sources to meet their livelihoods,” said Eliza.
In fact, the agricultural sector is the top three engines of national economic growth following manufacturing and trade. Manufacturing, which has recently been sluggish, and trade, which is being bombarded with imports, are predicted to provide limited contributions to the economy in the near future.
Also read: Ministry of Agriculture’s Pumping Program Becomes Solution to Farmers’ Challenges in Central Java
In other words, policymakers should be aware that the mainstay of the economy today is the agricultural sector. Unfortunately, the agricultural sector is no less concerning than manufacturing and trade.
The lack of awareness of the importance of the agricultural sector can also be seen from the imbalance in the research and development aspects. The agricultural sector development ecosystem is still quite weak and not connected from upstream to downstream.
Research and development in the agricultural sector should not be limited to journal publications and paper findings alone. Implementation of the research is essential to encourage the creation of quality food.
Extension workers also can’t do much. Because currently one extension worker has to handle two villages. Therefore, the agricultural sector seems to be running in place, even experiencing decline. Therefore, Eliza asked the government to embrace many parties to strengthen the domestic food sector.
“This is to transfer knowledge and provide space for farmers to become subjects of research and development. Farmers must also be actively involved in research and development, not just accept innovation products,” he concluded. (Z-2)
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