Greed, complacency at play in drought, forest fires<\/p>\n
We have been closely following the effect of the prolonged
\ndrought, causing both record crop failures and an unprecedented
\nsmog which has enveloped the region. We recently asked Dr. H.S.
\nDillon, Vice-President of the Asian Society of Agricultural
\nEconomists, who served as Assistant to the Minister of
\nAgriculture for many years, to comment on the cause and probable
\neffects of these disasters.<\/p>\n
Question: What are the real causes of the drought, why does
\nit seem that this drought caught us unawares and what is its
\nimpact?<\/p>\n
Answer: The prolonged drought is caused by El Nio; so it is
\nindeed a natural disaster. However, the food deprivation and the
\nsmog are man-made. Our Meteorological and Geophysics Agency had
\nalready warned us of the impending El Nio -- which is cyclical;
\nso, we were not caught totally unaware.<\/p>\n
You should remember that this also occurred in 1994. That this
\nis now inflicting severe hardships on both us and our neighbors
\nis due more to unbridled greed on the part of big plantation
\ninterests and the complacency of our agricultural bureaucracy
\nleadership than to the severity of this year's El Nio itself.<\/p>\n
If its cause is straightforward, assessing its impact is going
\nto be much more complicated. On the one hand, the crop failures
\nhave pushed thousands of our farmers into poverty and reportedly
\nled to the deaths of hundreds of our brethren in remote areas.<\/p>\n
This will undoubtedly undermine their confidence in the
\ngovernment. The requisite food imports to compensate for the drop
\nin production will drain our foreign exchange, and further
\nexacerbate our balance of payments difficulties. It will be
\ndifficult to put a rupiah tab on the loss of forest, the
\necological damage, impaired health, and the downturn in tourism.
\nHow does one value the lives lost to severe deprivation and
\nnavigational accidents?<\/p>\n
Some experts are predicting that the ecological damage might
\ntake 25 years to mend, while others admit that it might take 30
\nyears before we know the life-shortening capacity of the
\ncarcinogens released by these fires. Not to mention the strained
\nrelationship with our ASEAN neighbors.<\/p>\n
To compound matters further, this is being interpreted by the
\ninternational community as an indication of our inability to put
\nour own house in order. Thus, the credibility of our government
\nis at stake. I believe that all this has transpired because the
\nagricultural leadership is not being provided with the proper
\nadvice.<\/p>\n
Let's look at the crop failures first: there had been
\ncontinued reassurances of adequate rice stocks from all
\ngovernment agencies, but why were there no reports of efforts to
\nanticipate the crop failures and to help the affected farmers?
\nWhat would your advice have been?<\/p>\n
There's the rub. One would have expected that the State
\nMinister for Food and the Head of Bulog would try to allay any
\nfears of rice shortages and preempt price hikes by rice
\nspeculators. In our case, this becomes particularly important as
\nNew Year and the beginning of Ramadhan are spaced not very far
\napart.<\/p>\n
However, it is deplorable that the agricultural leadership did
\nnot see fit to draw national attention to the plight of our
\nfarmers, and to lobby for measures to mitigate their suffering.
\nIt was President Soeharto who first called for efforts to help
\nthese farmers. I would have advised the agricultural leadership
\nto set up a task force at the very first instance and immediately
\nimplement steps to mitigate the drought's impact such as
\nproviding quick-yielding seeds, or at the other extreme to advise
\nfarmers to plant less water-dependent crops.<\/p>\n
Q: What of the forest fires, were they inevitable?<\/p>\n
A: No, had the agricultural leadership shaken off its complacency
\nand managed to instill a sense of urgency in related agencies, a
\nlarge number of these fires could have been avoided. You see,
\nusing fires to complete land-clearing has been an everyday
\npractice for a long time.<\/p>\n
This actually comprises a rape of the commons -- in this case
\nthe environment -- as the one lighting the fires internalizes
\n(captures) the benefit of the land being cleared and ready for
\nplanting but externalizes (makes others bear) the costs by
\nreleasing smoke into the environment, shared alike by all.<\/p>\n
Actually, the plantation directors themselves were at a safe
\ndistance from the fires. Had the agricultural leadership
\ngalvanized its bureaucracy, it would have rescinded all its
\napproval for using controlled fires for land clearing, and worked
\nhand in hand with smallholders to avoid the burning of land. In
\nthis case, the business-as-usual stance adopted by the
\nagricultural bureaucracy is either an indication of gross
\nincompetence or complicity.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you make of the President apologizing on two separate
\noccasions, will this galvanize our bureaucracy?<\/p>\n
A: The President exhibited the stuff that great statesmen are
\nmade of. But it's a national disgrace that the agricultural
\nleadership placed President Soeharto in this position. This is
\nministerial irresponsibility at its worst.<\/p>\n
I am not convinced that this will shake the bureaucracy out of
\nits complacency. I would like to remind you that we went through
\nall this just three years ago. However, no action was taken
\nagainst those responsible. Without any punishment for their
\ntransgressions all these years, it should not come as a surprise
\nthat plantation directors and senior officials alike feel that
\nthey can get away with murder!<\/p>\n
Q: What sort of advice would you render now?<\/p>\n
A: The crop failures and forest fires have already taken their
\ntoll; nothing can reverse that now. Despite foreign assistance
\nfrom near and far, we are still facing great difficulty in
\nfighting the forest fires. I guess it will take heavy rains to
\ndouse these fires.<\/p>\n
What we have to do now is embark upon confidence building. I
\nwould advise the agricultural leadership (minister) to shore up
\nconfidence in President Soeharto's government at this crucial
\njuncture by demonstrating that we are still capable of taking
\nfirm, resolute action against those responsible for these fires.<\/p>\n
First of all, I would counsel him to relieve of their posts
\nall senior officials found guilty of gross negligence, along with
\ndirectors of the state-owned plantations responsible for the
\norganized burning on their plantations. Then, I would urge him to
\nlevy stiff fines on the directors of private plantations
\nidentified by satellite as sources of organized burning. Then, he
\nshould offer to resign.<\/p>",
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