Jakarta, Oct 19 (Antara) - With a population of about 250 million and an annual growth of 1.5 percent, Indonesia is facing a challenge in raising its food production.
"We have numerous challenges, but foremost among these is the increase in population. The acreage under rice fields continues to shrink at a time when we need a two-fold increase in food production," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said while addressing a World Food Day anniversary celebration in Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra, on Saturday.
Indonesian farmers who account for 31 million or about 12 percent of the population, play a crucial role in enhancing the country's food production. Therefore, the government should also pay more attention to farmers, instead of merely thinking of raising production through increasing the role of corporations.
According to the National Alliance for Prosperous Villages, the government, in its efforts to increase food production, is giving too much attention to corporations.
"The government gives more attention to corporations in its efforts to increase food production, especially regarding use of seeds, fertilizers and tractors, with farmers only being treated as captive users," Coordinator of the National Alliance for Prosperous Villages, Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko, stated on Friday.
He said actually many farmers groups could ensure quality agricultural production on their own. The government's logic that it needs to protect consumer's interest since rice was a staple food item, are hurting the farmers as the price of rice was no more competitive when compared to the cost of production.
"If the government really intends to protect the farmers, it should guarantee that the price of farmer's rice crop will not be allowed to fall drastically during the grand harvest season. It should also provide a sense of certainty to farmers when it comes to adverse impact of climate change since this is posing a hurdle in the efforts to increase food production," he said.
He stressed that 26 million farmers and 2.2 million traditional fishermen were not being offered protection, a fact made evident by the decrease in the land under cultivation by 110 thousand hectares per annum and the shrinking of fishing areas as a result of conservation and reclamation activities.
Earlier, the Indonesia for Global Justice stated that economic liberalism had disturbed the food price stability in the country, and the government should therefore keep away from such a concept.
"Market liberalism taking place in the 21st century economic era has eliminated the state's control over the food sovereignty system," Riza Damanik, the executive director of the Indonesia for Global Justice, noted on Tuesday, October 13.
Therefore, according to Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko, the government needs to protect small-scale food producers in various parts of the country as part of its efforts to achieve food sovereignty.
"The Alliance for Prosperous Villages reaffirms the need to protect small-scale food producers amid an economic slowdown, global free trade and climate change," Jatmiko pointed out on Friday (October 16).
He noted that farmers, fishermen and small peasants should serve as the driving force to achieve food sovereignty, something once promised by President Joko Widodo.
Jatmiko said the government appeared to be repeating the mistakes committed by previous governments, such as only attempting to boost production.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in fact, stressed the importance of farmers using technology to increase food production. He called upon the people to apply agricultural technology to make the country's agricultural sector more advanced.
More importantly, farmers should take a lead in applying technology. After all, agricultural land area cannot be increased and, therefore, resorting to application of agricultural technology is the only way out.
If farmers could use agricultural technology, the country's economy will become more advanced, the Vice President told journalists after observing a technology presentation held in conjunction with the celebration of the World Food Day in South Sumatra on Saturday.
Food diversity could also increase the country's food resilience. Therefore, agricultural technology is quite important because it could increase farm production.
The country needs to develop food crops that do not need much water and can survive even in a drought. For that, technology should be applied.
"Technology is the key to productivity, while the key to technology is education. Good technology will increase production," Kalla said.
He said the success of food production also depended on a number of things such as good seeds, adequate irrigation system, enough fertilizers, good methods and the ability of the people to cultivate their farm land.
Kalla said the higher the population growth, the lower will be the acreage under agricultural land. "Increase in population will lead to an increase in the number of houses, industries, roads and land needed. So, what should be maintained in such a condition is maintaining productivity (by using technology)," the Vice President stressed.
He explained that in order to increase agricultural productivity amid narrowing land availability, the government and businesses need to apply technology and use efficient agricultural tools.
Indonesia's per capita rice consumption is about 139.15 kilogram per annum. With a population of about 250 million, Indonesia's annual rice need is about 35 million tons.***3***(T.A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 19-10-2015 19:36:0 |
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