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Ada Pertanyaan? Hubungi Kami Marcell Sihombing, Ady T.D. Achmad
Indonesian food production is currently on a precipice due to a drastically low level of interest being shown by a younger generation of farming families in working in the profession (a process known as ‘regenerasi’). That’s the opinion of Mr. Said Abdullah, coordinator of a non-profit organization known as the People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan – KRKP).
Mr. Abdullah has asserted that Indonesia’s 25o million strong population currently requires some 29 million tons of rice in order to feed itself. At the moment, 90% of Indonesia’s rice production is being generated by small-scale farmers (petani gurem) who commonly work on less than one single hectare (ha) of land. Furthermore, Indonesia’s current population of farmers are mostly comprised of older farmers, with 61% being 45 years of age or older, while only 12% are currently 35 years of age or younger.
According to KRKP data, during 2013, approximately 1,369 families per day gave up earning a living through farming. Ultimately, this could greatly diminish Indonesia’s food production capacity and is predicted to result in a 1% reduction in food production per year over the course of the next decade and beyond.
Many factors underlie the low interest of young farmers in continuing to engage in this time-honored profession over the last few years. According to Mr. Abdullah, factors such as land fragmentation and conversions, which have reduced the overall amount of cultivatable farming land, have proved decisive. Agro-ecosystem degradation, a process whereby an area of agricultural land becomes barren and uncultivatable, has also been a factor. And finally, Indonesia’s currently stagnating levels of food production by local farmers is also due to government policies which focus on the development of production instead of improving the wellbeing of the farmers themselves.
According to Mr. Abdullah, various regulatory policies established by the government have mainly been partial, such as the provision of technical assistance in the form of tractors and seed procurements. Such policies have failed to take into account the fact that each region of the country has its own unique characteristics and geography which can’t be accommodated by a single standard policy.
Official KRKP research has shown that the ownership of farmland and the profit derived from such land are key factors which may stimulate the interest of a younger generation of farmers, specifically rice farmers. This is in line with the objectives of the so-called Nine Agenda (Nawacita) established by the administration of President Joko Widodo, which focus specifically on food sovereignty and agrarian reform, two areas which are closely related to each other. Regarding the issue of agrarian reform, Mr. Abdullah asserted that the government should immediately issue a technical regulation which deals with land redistribution for farmers.
“One of the recommendations derived from our [KRKP] research is that the government must consistently implement agrarian reform, which should ultimately lead to new, younger generation farmers being successfully encouraged to continue in the profession,” asserted Mr. Abdullah during a press conference which was held in Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 May 2016.
Mr. Abdullah firmly believes that agrarian reform is crucial if greater access to assets and land for farmers is to be offered. Mr. Abdullah further asserted that the National Land Agency (BPN) was still deliberating the various technical regulations which will facilitate any agrarian reform program, as mandated by the Nawacita. Moreover, Mr. Abdullah has also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to also issue relevant technical regulations in order to realize the 1,000,000 ha rice-field land project once promised by the President.
Despite taking a position which seeks to encourage the government to formulate the technical implementation of an agrarian reform program, Mr. Abdullah also sought to remind people that such a program does not mean that the government will simply be handing out land-ownership titles indiscriminately. For Mr. Abdullah, any process of agrarian reform should go deeper than merely providing land-ownership titles for farmers.
“[The process of agrarian reform] should aim to grant farmers sufficient access to relevant assets and lands for the purposes of improving the efficiency of the various farming-business operations that they are engaged in,” asserted Mr. Abdullah.
Mr. Abdullah also asserted that the government needed to make a breakthrough in relation to formulating price protections for the various commodities produced by farmers, as prices have always been manipulated by middlemen here who usually buy commodities directly from farmers at very cheap prices. Ironically, the Logistics Affairs Board (BULOG), the official government institution established for the purpose of purchasing commodities directly from farmers, has consistently failed to pay proper prices.
In order to address this issue, Mr. Abdullah has suggested that the government change the current subsidy scheme from an input-based system which focuses upon fertilizer subsidies to an output-based approach which takes the form of price subsidies. If such an approach is implemented, then Mr. Abdullah believes there is hope that BULOG may in time come to purchase farm commodities at higher prices.
Suryo Wiyono, the main researcher at the Strategic Study Center for Farming Policy (Pusat Kajian Strategis Kebijakan Pertanian) at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) stated recently that younger farmers taking up the profession (‘regenerasi’) was an essential process due to the fact that the majority of Indonesian farmers are currently aged 45 and older. According to Mr. Wiyono people of this age are less capable of adapting to technological advances, despite the fact that such technological advances can improve the overall competence of farmers. In contrast, younger generations of farmers are seen as being more likely to be able to adapt to the technological advances that will ultimately increase productivity, quality, competitiveness, and the general wellbeing of farmers.
“My hope is that the majority of future Indonesian farmers will be young individuals who are sufficiently well informed and up-to-date regarding farming technology and practices,” Mr. Wiyono concluded.
Mr. Abdullah has asserted that Indonesia’s 25o million strong population currently requires some 29 million tons of rice in order to feed itself. At the moment, 90% of Indonesia’s rice production is being generated by small-scale farmers (petani gurem) who commonly work on less than one single hectare (ha) of land. Furthermore, Indonesia’s current population of farmers are mostly comprised of older farmers, with 61% being 45 years of age or older, while only 12% are currently 35 years of age or younger.
According to KRKP data, during 2013, approximately 1,369 families per day gave up earning a living through farming. Ultimately, this could greatly diminish Indonesia’s food production capacity and is predicted to result in a 1% reduction in food production per year over the course of the next decade and beyond.
Many factors underlie the low interest of young farmers in continuing to engage in this time-honored profession over the last few years. According to Mr. Abdullah, factors such as land fragmentation and conversions, which have reduced the overall amount of cultivatable farming land, have proved decisive. Agro-ecosystem degradation, a process whereby an area of agricultural land becomes barren and uncultivatable, has also been a factor. And finally, Indonesia’s currently stagnating levels of food production by local farmers is also due to government policies which focus on the development of production instead of improving the wellbeing of the farmers themselves.
According to Mr. Abdullah, various regulatory policies established by the government have mainly been partial, such as the provision of technical assistance in the form of tractors and seed procurements. Such policies have failed to take into account the fact that each region of the country has its own unique characteristics and geography which can’t be accommodated by a single standard policy.
Official KRKP research has shown that the ownership of farmland and the profit derived from such land are key factors which may stimulate the interest of a younger generation of farmers, specifically rice farmers. This is in line with the objectives of the so-called Nine Agenda (Nawacita) established by the administration of President Joko Widodo, which focus specifically on food sovereignty and agrarian reform, two areas which are closely related to each other. Regarding the issue of agrarian reform, Mr. Abdullah asserted that the government should immediately issue a technical regulation which deals with land redistribution for farmers.
“One of the recommendations derived from our [KRKP] research is that the government must consistently implement agrarian reform, which should ultimately lead to new, younger generation farmers being successfully encouraged to continue in the profession,” asserted Mr. Abdullah during a press conference which was held in Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 May 2016.
Mr. Abdullah firmly believes that agrarian reform is crucial if greater access to assets and land for farmers is to be offered. Mr. Abdullah further asserted that the National Land Agency (BPN) was still deliberating the various technical regulations which will facilitate any agrarian reform program, as mandated by the Nawacita. Moreover, Mr. Abdullah has also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to also issue relevant technical regulations in order to realize the 1,000,000 ha rice-field land project once promised by the President.
Despite taking a position which seeks to encourage the government to formulate the technical implementation of an agrarian reform program, Mr. Abdullah also sought to remind people that such a program does not mean that the government will simply be handing out land-ownership titles indiscriminately. For Mr. Abdullah, any process of agrarian reform should go deeper than merely providing land-ownership titles for farmers.
“[The process of agrarian reform] should aim to grant farmers sufficient access to relevant assets and lands for the purposes of improving the efficiency of the various farming-business operations that they are engaged in,” asserted Mr. Abdullah.
Mr. Abdullah also asserted that the government needed to make a breakthrough in relation to formulating price protections for the various commodities produced by farmers, as prices have always been manipulated by middlemen here who usually buy commodities directly from farmers at very cheap prices. Ironically, the Logistics Affairs Board (BULOG), the official government institution established for the purpose of purchasing commodities directly from farmers, has consistently failed to pay proper prices.
In order to address this issue, Mr. Abdullah has suggested that the government change the current subsidy scheme from an input-based system which focuses upon fertilizer subsidies to an output-based approach which takes the form of price subsidies. If such an approach is implemented, then Mr. Abdullah believes there is hope that BULOG may in time come to purchase farm commodities at higher prices.
Suryo Wiyono, the main researcher at the Strategic Study Center for Farming Policy (Pusat Kajian Strategis Kebijakan Pertanian) at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) stated recently that younger farmers taking up the profession (‘regenerasi’) was an essential process due to the fact that the majority of Indonesian farmers are currently aged 45 and older. According to Mr. Wiyono people of this age are less capable of adapting to technological advances, despite the fact that such technological advances can improve the overall competence of farmers. In contrast, younger generations of farmers are seen as being more likely to be able to adapt to the technological advances that will ultimately increase productivity, quality, competitiveness, and the general wellbeing of farmers.
“My hope is that the majority of future Indonesian farmers will be young individuals who are sufficiently well informed and up-to-date regarding farming technology and practices,” Mr. Wiyono concluded.
(rfs/sp)
Marcell Sihombing, Ady T.D. Achmad
Indonesian food production is currently on a precipice due to a drastically low level of interest being shown by a younger generation of farming families in working in the profession (a process known as ‘regenerasi’). That’s the opinion of Mr. Said Abdullah, coordinator of a non-profit organization known as the People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan – KRKP).
Mr. Abdullah has asserted that Indonesia’s 25o million strong population currently requires some 29 million tons of rice in order to feed itself. At the moment, 90% of Indonesia’s rice production is being generated by small-scale farmers (petani gurem) who commonly work on less than one single hectare (ha) of land. Furthermore, Indonesia’s current population of farmers are mostly comprised of older farmers, with 61% being 45 years of age or older, while only 12% are currently 35 years of age or younger.
According to KRKP data, during 2013, approximately 1,369 families per day gave up earning a living through farming. Ultimately, this could greatly diminish Indonesia’s food production capacity and is predicted to result in a 1% reduction in food production per year over the course of the next decade and beyond.
Many factors underlie the low interest of young farmers in continuing to engage in this time-honored profession over the last few years. According to Mr. Abdullah, factors such as land fragmentation and conversions, which have reduced the overall amount of cultivatable farming land, have proved decisive. Agro-ecosystem degradation, a process whereby an area of agricultural land becomes barren and uncultivatable, has also been a factor. And finally, Indonesia’s currently stagnating levels of food production by local farmers is also due to government policies which focus on the development of production instead of improving the wellbeing of the farmers themselves.
According to Mr. Abdullah, various regulatory policies established by the government have mainly been partial, such as the provision of technical assistance in the form of tractors and seed procurements. Such policies have failed to take into account the fact that each region of the country has its own unique characteristics and geography which can’t be accommodated by a single standard policy.
Official KRKP research has shown that the ownership of farmland and the profit derived from such land are key factors which may stimulate the interest of a younger generation of farmers, specifically rice farmers. This is in line with the objectives of the so-called Nine Agenda (Nawacita) established by the administration of President Joko Widodo, which focus specifically on food sovereignty and agrarian reform, two areas which are closely related to each other. Regarding the issue of agrarian reform, Mr. Abdullah asserted that the government should immediately issue a technical regulation which deals with land redistribution for farmers.
“One of the recommendations derived from our [KRKP] research is that the government must consistently implement agrarian reform, which should ultimately lead to new, younger generation farmers being successfully encouraged to continue in the profession,” asserted Mr. Abdullah during a press conference which was held in Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 May 2016.
Mr. Abdullah firmly believes that agrarian reform is crucial if greater access to assets and land for farmers is to be offered. Mr. Abdullah further asserted that the National Land Agency (BPN) was still deliberating the various technical regulations which will facilitate any agrarian reform program, as mandated by the Nawacita. Moreover, Mr. Abdullah has also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to also issue relevant technical regulations in order to realize the 1,000,000 ha rice-field land project once promised by the President.
Despite taking a position which seeks to encourage the government to formulate the technical implementation of an agrarian reform program, Mr. Abdullah also sought to remind people that such a program does not mean that the government will simply be handing out land-ownership titles indiscriminately. For Mr. Abdullah, any process of agrarian reform should go deeper than merely providing land-ownership titles for farmers.
“[The process of agrarian reform] should aim to grant farmers sufficient access to relevant assets and lands for the purposes of improving the efficiency of the various farming-business operations that they are engaged in,” asserted Mr. Abdullah.
Mr. Abdullah also asserted that the government needed to make a breakthrough in relation to formulating price protections for the various commodities produced by farmers, as prices have always been manipulated by middlemen here who usually buy commodities directly from farmers at very cheap prices. Ironically, the Logistics Affairs Board (BULOG), the official government institution established for the purpose of purchasing commodities directly from farmers, has consistently failed to pay proper prices.
In order to address this issue, Mr. Abdullah has suggested that the government change the current subsidy scheme from an input-based system which focuses upon fertilizer subsidies to an output-based approach which takes the form of price subsidies. If such an approach is implemented, then Mr. Abdullah believes there is hope that BULOG may in time come to purchase farm commodities at higher prices.
Suryo Wiyono, the main researcher at the Strategic Study Center for Farming Policy (Pusat Kajian Strategis Kebijakan Pertanian) at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) stated recently that younger farmers taking up the profession (‘regenerasi’) was an essential process due to the fact that the majority of Indonesian farmers are currently aged 45 and older. According to Mr. Wiyono people of this age are less capable of adapting to technological advances, despite the fact that such technological advances can improve the overall competence of farmers. In contrast, younger generations of farmers are seen as being more likely to be able to adapt to the technological advances that will ultimately increase productivity, quality, competitiveness, and the general wellbeing of farmers.
“My hope is that the majority of future Indonesian farmers will be young individuals who are sufficiently well informed and up-to-date regarding farming technology and practices,” Mr. Wiyono concluded.
Mr. Abdullah has asserted that Indonesia’s 25o million strong population currently requires some 29 million tons of rice in order to feed itself. At the moment, 90% of Indonesia’s rice production is being generated by small-scale farmers (petani gurem) who commonly work on less than one single hectare (ha) of land. Furthermore, Indonesia’s current population of farmers are mostly comprised of older farmers, with 61% being 45 years of age or older, while only 12% are currently 35 years of age or younger.
According to KRKP data, during 2013, approximately 1,369 families per day gave up earning a living through farming. Ultimately, this could greatly diminish Indonesia’s food production capacity and is predicted to result in a 1% reduction in food production per year over the course of the next decade and beyond.
Many factors underlie the low interest of young farmers in continuing to engage in this time-honored profession over the last few years. According to Mr. Abdullah, factors such as land fragmentation and conversions, which have reduced the overall amount of cultivatable farming land, have proved decisive. Agro-ecosystem degradation, a process whereby an area of agricultural land becomes barren and uncultivatable, has also been a factor. And finally, Indonesia’s currently stagnating levels of food production by local farmers is also due to government policies which focus on the development of production instead of improving the wellbeing of the farmers themselves.
According to Mr. Abdullah, various regulatory policies established by the government have mainly been partial, such as the provision of technical assistance in the form of tractors and seed procurements. Such policies have failed to take into account the fact that each region of the country has its own unique characteristics and geography which can’t be accommodated by a single standard policy.
Official KRKP research has shown that the ownership of farmland and the profit derived from such land are key factors which may stimulate the interest of a younger generation of farmers, specifically rice farmers. This is in line with the objectives of the so-called Nine Agenda (Nawacita) established by the administration of President Joko Widodo, which focus specifically on food sovereignty and agrarian reform, two areas which are closely related to each other. Regarding the issue of agrarian reform, Mr. Abdullah asserted that the government should immediately issue a technical regulation which deals with land redistribution for farmers.
“One of the recommendations derived from our [KRKP] research is that the government must consistently implement agrarian reform, which should ultimately lead to new, younger generation farmers being successfully encouraged to continue in the profession,” asserted Mr. Abdullah during a press conference which was held in Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 May 2016.
Mr. Abdullah firmly believes that agrarian reform is crucial if greater access to assets and land for farmers is to be offered. Mr. Abdullah further asserted that the National Land Agency (BPN) was still deliberating the various technical regulations which will facilitate any agrarian reform program, as mandated by the Nawacita. Moreover, Mr. Abdullah has also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to also issue relevant technical regulations in order to realize the 1,000,000 ha rice-field land project once promised by the President.
Despite taking a position which seeks to encourage the government to formulate the technical implementation of an agrarian reform program, Mr. Abdullah also sought to remind people that such a program does not mean that the government will simply be handing out land-ownership titles indiscriminately. For Mr. Abdullah, any process of agrarian reform should go deeper than merely providing land-ownership titles for farmers.
“[The process of agrarian reform] should aim to grant farmers sufficient access to relevant assets and lands for the purposes of improving the efficiency of the various farming-business operations that they are engaged in,” asserted Mr. Abdullah.
Mr. Abdullah also asserted that the government needed to make a breakthrough in relation to formulating price protections for the various commodities produced by farmers, as prices have always been manipulated by middlemen here who usually buy commodities directly from farmers at very cheap prices. Ironically, the Logistics Affairs Board (BULOG), the official government institution established for the purpose of purchasing commodities directly from farmers, has consistently failed to pay proper prices.
In order to address this issue, Mr. Abdullah has suggested that the government change the current subsidy scheme from an input-based system which focuses upon fertilizer subsidies to an output-based approach which takes the form of price subsidies. If such an approach is implemented, then Mr. Abdullah believes there is hope that BULOG may in time come to purchase farm commodities at higher prices.
Suryo Wiyono, the main researcher at the Strategic Study Center for Farming Policy (Pusat Kajian Strategis Kebijakan Pertanian) at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) stated recently that younger farmers taking up the profession (‘regenerasi’) was an essential process due to the fact that the majority of Indonesian farmers are currently aged 45 and older. According to Mr. Wiyono people of this age are less capable of adapting to technological advances, despite the fact that such technological advances can improve the overall competence of farmers. In contrast, younger generations of farmers are seen as being more likely to be able to adapt to the technological advances that will ultimately increase productivity, quality, competitiveness, and the general wellbeing of farmers.
“My hope is that the majority of future Indonesian farmers will be young individuals who are sufficiently well informed and up-to-date regarding farming technology and practices,” Mr. Wiyono concluded.
(rfs/sp)