Lessons From Covid-19: The Need to Strengthen the Foundation For food self-sufficiency

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One of the important lessons from Covid 19 is that we are increasingly aware of the need to increase food self-sufficiency towards strong food security. We absolutely cannot depend on imported food. Our dependence on food procurement is solely on ourselves, not on other parties. We should not be satisfied with the availability of food achieved today, but we must strengthen the foundation for food independence for the next few decades. One of the fundamental questions in this regard is whether our strategy is right, where we do depend on farmers for rice supply.  How much longer do farmers survive? How many young people are still loyal and willing to provide food for other parties? It is better if our range of thinking is not for today, but jumping far ahead, so that we are not anxious and surprised when it really happens that we no longer have farmers.

In a modern and mature civil society, the supply of various community needs is carried out by the community itself. The government is only a facilitator and catalyst that brings together various potential parties. There is a group of people who are good at making clothes, making crafts, creating various forms of delicious food, and others. Well, the government is obliged to facilitate various community groups so that they develop well; bringing together various community groups with other parties, so that a transaction process that is beneficial for all parties is created. Thus, the community will develop in harmony, towards progress and mutual needs together. However, a theory often experiences anomalies. The question is, is this civil society pattern suitable for farmers’ rice supply? Is it still appropriate to rely entirely on farmers in the supply of rice?

 

The Foundation of Fragile Food Self-Sufficiency

Some time ago, in a paper published by Pangannews.id I conveyed that efforts to realize food self-sufficiency so far have depended on farmers’ land. Quoting Mubyarto, Rahardjo (2014) suggested that in Indonesia since the colonial era there was a dualism between capitalistic agriculture and smallholder agriculture. Capitalistic agriculture in the form of large plantations with commercial commodities controlled by the Dutch East Indies Government and export-oriented. On the other hand, there are smallholder agriculture that cultivates food crops, especially rice, which is subsistence, ie farming only to meet the needs of the family, not profit-oriented. But it is directly or indirectly this  “people agriculture” that is tasked to provide food for other residents.

Quoting Kuhren and Mubyarto, Rahardjo (2014) also suggested the term “family farming” for rice producers in Indonesia. The main characteristic of family farming – which is synonymous with smallholder agriculture – is narrow land; farming only to meet family needs; rice crops become the main crop which is often supplemented by vegetables and livestock in very limited quantities. For Indonesia, since the time of forced cultivation (cultuur stelsel) conducted by the Dutch East Indian Government, this farming family has been tasked in providing rice. In this millennial era, the task of the farming family does not change as a food provider for other groups. The agricultural extension education is essentially a persuasion requesting the willingness of farmers to remain as a food provider for other parties with high productivity.

In this modern era, some farmers are still faithful in carrying out their duties as food providers. The results of the 2018 inter-census agricultural survey showed that in Indonesia there were 13 155 108 rice farming families, 7 129 401 secondary crops farming families, and 10 104 683 horticultural farming families. These are those who are undergoing a “noble duty” as a food provider for other parties in Indonesia, including for wealthy businessmen and for politicians who are in power. About 60% of these rice farmers are concentrated in Java and around 20% in Sumatra (Table 1). In more detail, for Java, as many as 2 249 012 households were found in West Java, 2 431 077 households in Central Java, and 2 604 11 households in East Java. Banten only has 596 304 farming families; DIY has 493 764 farm families; and DKI Jakarta only has 15 082 farming families. In general, these families in Java provide food for the Indonesian population in general. With the decreasing number of farmers continuously, and the small number of young farmers, it is clear that the foundation of our food independence is very weak, that is, it only depends on senior farmers who are increasingly old, and in time they will disappear.

 

Table 1. Distribution of Farmer in Indonesia Based on The Comodities in The Main Regions

 

No. Main Regions Food Crops Horticulture Total (Household)
Paddy Secondary Crops
1 Sumatera 2 439 101 927 934 1 823 888 5 190  923
2 Java 7 994 029 4 238 038 6 224 036 18 456 103
3 Kalimantan 888 895 110 285 376 058 1 375 238
4 Sulawesi 894 988 625 837 618 153 2 138 978
5 Bali & Nusa Tenggara 901 078 783 339 674 240 2 358 657
6 Maluku & Irian Jaya 37 017 443 968 388 308 869 293
Total 13 155 108 7 129 401 10 104 683 30 389 192

Source: Processed from The Result of Inter-census Agricultural Survey (BPS, 2018)

 

The Fading Subsistence

When the farming pattern of subsistence is still strong, of course this is not a problem. They do not expect profits at all in farming activity. Farmers prioritize social rationality rather than economic trationality. The consideration of togetherness and the desire to meet the needs of the local community is still very prominent. It is a pride if they can help the provision of food for the surrounding community. The wealth and social status indicators are measured based on the number of paddy fields owned, the large number of harvests obtained, and the large number of neighboring villages or even villages that help in their fields; and in the santri community the social status is based on the amount of zakat that can be spent by these rich farmers.

However, lately there have been various indications of waning farmers’ loyalty to their land, especially among the younger generation of farmers. This is in line with the waning of subsistence patterns that have turned into profit-oriented economic rationality. The main consideration is profit. Even this was influenced by the entry of the money economy into the countryside; improvement in education level which results in prominent economic rationality compared to social rationality; and factually, the small income derived from the agricultural sector compared to other sectors. According to Witono and Nasution in 1996, the profit ratio obtained by farmers compared to other sectors was: 1:14 for the tourism sector, 1: 500 for industrial estates, and 1: 622 for housing complexes (Irawan, 2005). That is, if they use their land for various activities outside the agricultural sector, such as tourist, industrial, and residential areas, then they have the opportunity to obtain benefits in the range of 14-622 times compared with the activities of the agricultural sector.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the children of prospective land heirs in Gekbrong Subdistrict, Cianjur, West Java tend to have a negative view of farming activities, and this has a significant effect on the tendency to sell their land. Even the unwillingness to farm among young people has a very significant effect on the tendency to sell their farm land (Maman, 2018). Farmers in Bangaudua, Indramayu, West Java who are educated and see employment opportunities in the non-agricultural sector tend to want to switch to that sector, and they tend to reject the designation of their land as a Sustainable Food Agriculture Zone (Apriyanti, 2018), so the number of young farmers is increasingly disappearing . The assistance provided by the government to encourage interest in farming turned out to be only effective for old farmers, such as in the Handayanti Research (2016) at Warung Kondang, Cianjur Regency, West Java.. Even if the aid has an influence on the younger generation, it turns out that the effect is less significant to encourage the interest in farming for young farmers who inherit agricultural land from their parents, as seen in a Muslim study (2017) in Ciwalen District, Cianjur Regency, West Java.

 

Table 2. The Amount of Farmer Family in Indonesia Based on the Age Group

No.

 

Age Group (Year) Amount (Head of Household) Percentage
1 ≤ 25 191 000 0.69
2 25-34 2 722 446 9.84
3 35-44 6 548 105 23.65
4 45-54 7 841 355 28.33
5 55 – 64 6 256 083 22.60
6 ≥ 65 4 123 128 14.89
Total 27 682 117 100.00

Sources: The Result of Inter-Census Agricultural Survey (BPS, 2018)

The Need of Alternative Model of Food Supply

Therefore, dependence on farmers is very risky for the future of food supply within the next few years, so it is time for us to start thinking about the food supply model for future generations. As it was presented some time ago, based on the results of a survey between the agricultural census in Indonesia, BPS (2018) presented, the young farmers under the age of 25 years are only 0.60% (191 000 HHs), those aged between 25-34 years only 9, 84% (2 722 446 HHs), and those aged 35-44 years were 23.65% (6 548 105 HHs). Most farmers, 65.82% (18 220 566 HHs) were over 45 years old (Table 2). In the next 20 years, based on human calculations, we will lose more than 60 percent of farmers. This is accompanied by a massive loss of agricultural land continuously.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration if now it is time to think about and discuss alternative models of food supply, which are not entirely dependent on farmers’ land. One of the models that we can learn is what is in the Nabawiyyah siroh, where it was done by the Prophet Muhammad. Perhaps this can be considered and discussed. Referring to Ibn Hisham (2003), when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) obtained Khaibar land which is a fertile agricultural land that had the status of state land, he distributed part of the land to his shohabah. Some others, he as head of state directly manage it as a food center that cannot be converted. In working on the land, he introduced a scheme of al-musaqoh — a form of cooperation between the state and the Jewish community as cultivators of the agricultural land. This land is what he made as the main food center for the people of Medina. He also oversees the productivity of agricultural land which he shares with the shahabah. If two years the land is left unproductive, then he withdraws the land rights granted to individuals (Al-Karmi, 2012)

Therefore, in providing food, the Prophet applied a dual system, namely the provision of food by the state, where the state has food centers that are directly managed by the state; and food supply by individuals interested in farming. The state encourages individuals to produce their land well. This model may be a subject of discussion and deepening in order to anticipate the crisis of farmers and agricultural land. Implementatively, each Regional Government should have a food center, which is managed by the Regional Government in cooperation with a number of farmer groups.[1]

 

List of Reference

Al-Karmi, Hafidz Ahmad Ajjaj. 2012. Manajemen Dakwah & Politik Rasulullah SAW, Bogor: Pustaka Thoriqul Izzah.

Apriyanty, Liana. 2018. “Respons Petani Terhadap Rencana Pembentukan Lahan Pertanian Pangan Berkelanjutan Di Kecamatan Bangodua Kabupaten Indramayu” (Jakarta: Skripsi FST UIN Jakarta)

BPS. 2018. Hasil Survai Antar Sensus Pertanian 2018, BPS, Jakarta, Indonesia

Handayanti, B., 2016. Dampak Kebijakan Pemerintah terhadap Minat Bertani di Kecamatan Warung Kondang, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat (Jakarta: Skripsi FST UIN Jakarta)

Ibn Hisyam, Abū Muḥammad Abū al-Mālik al-Muafirī. Sīrah Nabawiyyah Ibn Hisyām. Jakarta: Darul Falah, 2003.

Irawan, B., 2005, Konversi Lahan Pertanian: POtensi Dampak, Pola Penggunaan, dan Faktor-Faktor Determinan. Forum Penelitian Agro Ekonomi 23(1): 1-18

Maman, Ujang, 2018, From Single to Dual System: Initiating the Model of Wet Rice Field Management to Optimize Staple Food Availability, Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences Vol. 13(21): 9259-9268

Muslim, Muallim, 2017, Pengaruh Persepsi Tentang Status Sosial Ekonomi dan Lingkungan Petani Terhadap Minat Berusaha Tani Padi: Kasus Pemuda Desa Ciwalen, Warungkondang, Cianjur, Jawa Barat (Jakarta: Skripsi FST UIN Jakarta)

Rahardjo, 2014, Pengantar Sosiologi Pedesaan dan Pertanian, Yogyakarta, UGM Press.

[1] This paper is modified from the previous paper published by Pangannews.id

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