The Agrarian Reform Consortium (Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria or KPA) conducts a publlic discussion on false policy about food crisis, on Tuesday (17/9), by reflecting on the last ten years, with many policies but also policy anti-thesis such as food crisis and others.
The government of Prabowo-Gibran’s masterpiece policy is about food, including Food Estate. Then what about the policy reflection in the last ten years?
Martin Hadiwijaya, FIAN National Commission and a member of Agrarian Reform Consortium (Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria or KPA) says that it is important to have a discussion on this, as his side is campaigning for the rights to food and how the State ensures agricultural and food production that would be enough for national food needs and to feed the people. This is a critical note that the Economic and Social Rights Convention obligates the States to meet descent standard of living and the rights to the environment. There is also a need to clarify the concept regarding the rights to food. The critical idea is that the State has the obligation to take actions to ensure the rights to food and nutrition. Second, there is a prohibition to stepping backward as KPA notes there is a regression as small peasants increase in numbers and the government infringes on human rights in many occasions, as seen in the reduction of agricultural land and the conversion of forest into oil palm plantation and mining leading to climate crisis.
Protection to community is still minimal and they take the resources. There are many rights infringements by the government. There is a need to re-consider so that people’s rights to food and nutrition are fulfilled. Does this mean that the food program does not answer the question?
"We see this as a program to meet people’s rights to food and nutrition. There is not clear process. Women, pregnant women, and vulnerable groups are the targets. Yet, there is a trap here, because if one is to address stunting, there is a circular process to be severed by giving food to pregnant women," explains Martin.
He believes that free lunch does not consider food pre- and post-production. The 70-trilion budget is mixed with the education budget. There is no decentralisation which can be an issue later. In India, there is public engagement, that allows civil society to cook and share, and at the same time there is the food council with civil society and government members. There is a one billion national budget for it.
This also happens in Brazil for the program, 30% is used to buy produce made by peasant families. If one looks at current trend about food estate, one sees the multi-functions of security forces: there are actions to build healthy kitchen – meaning food estate the security forces way. This is a major threat. The prospect of eating nutritious may fail, because there is threats of corruption and legal actions against corporation. In a campaign about free nutritious food, there is e-commerce. This is the corporate trap to get profit. Free nutritious food should be integrated into school. There are food cooked in the school kitchen for every meal consumption. "What I see, school meal program integrates families to get involved in Brazil. We need to consolidate this again," says Martin.
The other issue is that Indonesia has a law on food, law on peasants, even law on sustainable rice fields but in the last ten years there is no government political will because it does not bring any benefit to the government. This is similar to how the agrarian law is not implemented in Indonesia. As illustration by WALHI makes clear that the industrial zones are far larger that the fishery zone. There is no regulation either to protect peasants and fishermen, because the government does not see any benefits in it.
So is food estate a solution? M. A. Mahrus from PUSAKA answers that there is a buzz in the coalition about food estate as part of FIAN. There are peat-land, etc. What about Papua? The arrival of this project is like that of education. There was food estate in Papua in the past and it failed.
In 2022, there are a number of findings – a number of food sources decrease due to forest conversion and leads them to the finding regarding nutrition and health, and revelation about money politics. People spends weeks in company lands just to get whatever remains. Then there is one incident in land release in a house full with security officials.
Why is the military involved? Because the Presidential Instruction allows it, and this complicates the issue.
In a discussio with host Benni Wijaya, there is a question about food estate – whether it is problematic or whether it fails in the field? The question is whether this is about a legal paradigm. The legal analysis becomes problematic because it is only used as a development instrument and inserted into the Job Creation Act. Then what happens to the food estate? Ths is not only about practical mistakes, this is not like that in Papua or in other places.
Ada Peraturan Pemerintah yang mengatakan bahwa negara bisa mengambil alih lahan hanya karena ia ditetapkan sebagai PSN. Ini yang kemudian disebut otokratik legalism dalam kebijakan negara. Tujuannya untuk memperbesar kekuasaan moda dan kekuasaan politik hanya untuk kelompoknya. Otokratik legalism ini, dia berjalan sesuai hukum dan seolah sudah benar, tetapi sebenarnya sudah melanggar prinsip negara hukum bahkan ke arah otoritarianisme.
Kompas Finding that Suggests There is Attempt to Synchronise Food Corporation and Import Policies
Ahmad Arif, Kompas journalist explains his observation in the field. From the case in Papua, he suggest that it is the direction that needs changes. They are forced to grow rice, for example the people of Merauke that in the past did not buy rice, now they have to buy rice. In terms of malnutrition elimination, what people catch is now being sold in order to buy rice. And what is left for children is only the skin. They eat food of lesser quality than before.
In Southeast Sulawesi, rice-fields are being created. Arif opines that the food concept implemented by the government changes the existing food system that creates a rice deficit and increases consumption. In the last ten years, the ups-and-down of import leads to increased rice deficit. Communities that had consumed local staple food suddenly shifted to rice. And this fails in most areas with different types of soil. To change peat land in Kalimantan into rice field necessitates years, while production is not as good as in Java and Bali. This is the real example of food estate failure and there is no evaluation.
Arif adds that food marginalization happened for a long time since the colonial time, as in Mentawai. The food system was changed through creation of rice fields in order for it to be controlled. The same happens in East Nusa Tenggara and it was only in the New Order that it became a political commodity. People who consumed local food were then deemed poor. This was the mindset. This all happened, and food literacy was given to community and government policy needed change. So essentially, rice is used for a political interest – rice aid led to peasants being reluctant to grow local food. The government did not push for a serious policy to develop local food. This makes Indonesia the biggest wheat importer in the world. Indonesian rice import is 2-4 million tons while the last figure is five million. There should be government measures to promote local food on par with what the government do with rice. This can be done.
The issue about food management system is that it is managed by uncontrolled food mafia. Then what happens with Ombudsman finding? What are their findings?
Yeka Hendra Fatika, a member of Indonesian Ombudsman stated that his task is essentially: prevention and eradication of mal-administration through monitoring.
He sees that there is a loss of connectivity between peasants and importers that can be re-established, i.e. black garlic industry made from regular garlic from China.
For Yeka, the problem we face is the high demand and the limited land for production. "The only successful food estate was during Soeharto regime through transmigration, " he said.
Now, what worries the Ombudsman is to monitor and correct but not enough by limiting public policies. Why is the military there in one-million hectare of peat land? Personally in his opinion, the government is forcing its way "that its policy must be successful" because the government ‘mode’ is that the more it gets humiliated the more it tries to fail. So, the endgame is to fail.
So what about peasants’ welfare? Fertiliser subsidy for instance, and what is the accountability? The asnwer is that it is complex as the data collection system is not designed on the basis transparency. In the five-year election, there is a data update that costs six trillion. The social agency also has data to distribute food and they have staff in every village. But nothing for fertiliser. There is no government office responsible for fertiliser despite the huge demand. "Agriculture development is abandoned without any certainty. In the past, there was commands with clear programs. Now nothing. Why? Because of regional autonomy. Poverty is borne out of regional autonomy. But when we ask not only about fertiliser but also about irrigation, the answer is that it is not critical. That is the answer from the government office. What is deemed critical: education, toll roads," says Yeka.
For him, if we import that means the exporting country has a surplus of production, so it should riive in our country as a cheap product, so why is it so expensive? Because there are certain fees. "For me, the democratic system is accountable to the government," says Yeka lagi.
Dewi Kartika, the Secretary General of KPA stated that in the first, second and third quarters, the agriculture sector employed 148 million people. Yet, the agriculture system and the food system is not effective as it does not touch important issues from the beginning.
Food security is a catchword nationally and internationally, when the food stock is not even sufficient as there is never any talk about food producers – the peasants and fishermen.
The agriculture sector is getting smaller and to date there are 17 million peasants. This process of impoverishment is going on with increasing number of farm labours and tenant farm. Where do they belong?
For Dewi, the essence of food estate and free lunch is the systematic impoverishment of peasants from upstream to downstream through a system. The issue of land mafia that always meets with the oligarchy which is a characteristics of a land politics – this is the success of the Job Creation Act, hence Dewi says that it is no surprise that food security program is done by the military.
Dari sistem pangan dibuka kemudian dibuka kran impor dan ini sistemik sekali. Sensus pertanian yang dilakukan pemerintah sudah ada guremisasi karena petani dijauhkan dari alat produksinya yakni tanah. Lantas pupuk menjadi bisnis pengusaha. Kartu Tani dibagi tetapi tidak bisa untuk mengakses pupuk. Artinya semua sistem dibikin sedemikian rupa sehingga petani termarjinalisasi.
"Then it is important to note about our nation’s independence in order to reproduce our own agriculture. It requires a change in paradigm, culture, policy that food is produced by our own hands, " says Dewi Kartika. (Ast)
