Rice: To protect or not to protect<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java<\/p>\n
The government's move to protect rice farmers against the
\nthreat imposed by the importation of cheap rice is a politically
\ntempting solution to increase farmers income, but may end up
\nhurting poor farmers and the overall economy, according to
\nexperts at a recent seminar.<\/p>\n
\"It (the protection policy) would end up hurting poor
\nconsumers and increasing poverty,\" Scott Pearson, a researcher
\nfrom the U.S. Stamford University, told The Jakarta Post on the
\nsidelines of a seminar on agricultural policy held by Development
\nAlternatives Inc. last week.<\/p>\n
Many of the country's rice farmers are actually also net rice
\nconsumers, according to various studies.<\/p>\n
Pearson added that the protection policy, which raises the
\nprice of rice, would also create a high-cost economy.<\/p>\n
\"(It would result in) higher marketing costs and higher labor
\ncosts in manufacturing all the things that you really need...
\ngarments, shoes, computers and so forth.\"<\/p>\n
\"That's why using protection as a means of raising farmers'
\nincomes is not a good policy in my judgment,\" said Pearson.<\/p>\n
\"What should be done is to redouble efforts to try to find
\nhigher income-earning activities for rice farmers. Some of them
\nwould shift to other crops,\" Pearson said.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has recently imposed a
\ntemporary ban on the importation of rice to protect farmers
\nduring the current harvest season. Prior to the ban, the
\ngovernment imposed a 30 percent import tariff on rice.<\/p>\n
But Bustanul Arifin from the Institute for Development of
\nEconomic Finance (INDEF) said the policy was prone to corruption
\nby government officials.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the government provide direct incentives for
\nfarmers to boost productivity, although he provided no further
\nexplanation.<\/p>\n
The importation of rice has been a controversial issue in
\nIndonesia. Some say that the protection policy should be
\nmaintained, even intensified, as the country's rice farmers can
\nno longer compete with cheaper imported rice.<\/p>\n
Proponents of the policy have suggested the import tariff be
\nincreased, as well as the provision of incentives for farmers to
\nboost domestic rice production and end the country's dependency
\non imported rice. They say that self sufficiency in rice
\nproduction is very important for the country, as rice is the main
\nstaple here and dependency on imported rice could pose a threat
\nto national security.<\/p>\n
\"Compared to the world rice trade volume we import way too
\nmuch rice. With about two million tons (a year), we import 15
\npercent of the world rice trade volume,\" deputy minister on
\nnatural resources and the environment of the National Development
\nPlanning Board (Bappenas), Dedy M. Masykur Riyadi, said.<\/p>\n
\"Rice, as our staple food, should be produced domestically.
\nThe problem is how to make it attractive to farmers to plant more
\nrice,\" he said, adding that the country ideally should produce 90
\npercent of domestic consumption.<\/p>\n
Indonesia achieved self sufficiency in rice production during
\nthe mid 1980s. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
\nawarded former-president Soeharto in 1985 for his success in
\nturning Indonesia from the world's biggest food importer to a
\ncountry self sufficient in rice.<\/p>\n
Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih said in his keynote
\nspeech at the seminar that Indonesia would stand with its
\npolitical will to minimize its dependency on imports.<\/p>\n
\"The government has decided to promote agribusiness
\ndevelopment with protection and promotion as the main strategy in
\nagriculture and rural development,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Protection from unfair international trade -- using tariff
\nand non-tariff regulations -- is intended to maintain domestic
\nfood prices, to enable our domestic producers to run their
\nbusinesses at a profit,\" said the minister.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rice-to-protect-or-not-to-protect-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}