Farmers shun sugarcane project<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Farmers mostly lack interest in taking part in
\nthe government-sponsored sugarcane intensification program due to
\nunfavorable prices of sugarcane.<\/p>\n
Mubyarto, an assistant of the minister for development
\nplanning, said last week that many sugarcane farmers rented their
\nland to local entrepreneurs instead of taking part in the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
\"As a consequence, around 80 percent of the participants of
\nthe sugarcane project are businesspeople or rich farmers in the
\narea,\" he told a national congress of the association of agro-
\neconomists.<\/p>\n
The government introduced the project in 1975 to help small-
\nscale farmers improve the quality and efficiency of their
\nsugarcane plantations and offered special incentives, technical
\nassistance and subsidized loans. But most of the farmers could
\nnot benefit from the facilities due to their poor access to the
\nbanking system.<\/p>\n
The farm areas involved in the project are mostly located near
\nsugarcane plantation companies in East and Central Java, where
\nthe irrigation systems have specially been designed for sugarcane
\nplantations.<\/p>\n
The farmers in the areas, however, are forced to rent their
\nland to the local entrepreneurs not only due to the unfavorable
\nprices of sugarcane but also because of their inability to grow
\nother commodities.<\/p>\n
The farmers are, under the program, required to sell their
\nsugarcane to nearby state-owned plantations, which procure the
\ncommodity at prices set by the government.<\/p>\n
\"The project has benefited only rich farmers and local
\nentrepreneurs,\" he said. Those businessmen have received many
\ngains from the project despite the low prices, not only because
\nof the larger scale of their farms but also their ability to
\nraise subsidized loans.<\/p>\n
Mubyarto said that the failure of the project indicated the
\ninequity in the country's farming development.(hen)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/farmers-shun-sugarcane-project-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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