Sugarcane no longer sweet for farmers<\/p>\n
F. Rahardi, Agribusiness Working Forum (FKA), Jakarta<\/p>\n
It is not only today that sugarcane growers have had a raw
\ndeal. High levels of sugar imports, including raw sugar, is only
\none factor that has been detrimental to sugarcane producers. No
\nmatter how high the duties on sugar imports, this policy will not
\nin itself improve the welfare of sugarcane growers.<\/p>\n
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L) is a commodity with a
\nlong, dark history for growers in East Java.<\/p>\n
In 1839, the Dutch Indies colonial administration, through
\nGovernor General J. van den Bosch, issued the infamous
\ncultuurstelsel regulation. Javanese farmers were forced to grow
\nimportant commodities for export, the priority being sugarcane.<\/p>\n
In 1890, cultuurstelsel was revoked because of strong
\nopposition from within the administration itself. Unfortunately,
\nthe bitter taste of sugarcane continues today.<\/p>\n
Farmers have been compelled to grow sugarcane under various
\nschemes like the Smallholders' Sugarcane Intensification (TRI)
\nprogram, Farmers' Business Loans (KUT) and so forth.<\/p>\n
This condition is detrimental to both the public and the
\ngovernment. Land with technically arranged irrigation in Java is
\ntoo costly for sugarcane planting, while shifting sugarcane
\nplanting to other regions such as Aceh, North Sumatra, South
\nSumatra, Lampung, South Kalimantan and South Sulawesi cannot be
\nexpected to meet the rising demand for sugar.<\/p>\n
Cane sugar from Java, in the form of brown sugar, was for
\ncenturies the primary sweetener for Middle East and Europe.
\nSugarcane cultivation is said to have begun in prehistorical
\ntimes. A Chinese traveler wrote in 400 A.D. that the cultivation
\nof sugarcane was intensive in Java and was processed into sugar.
\nSugarcane, which belongs to the family of grass (Poaceae) is
\nindigenous to Indonesia, with its original habitat assumed to be
\nthe Maluku islands or Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
When Dutch seaman Cornelis de Houtman docked in Banten (West
\nJava) in 1595, he found cane sugar a popular trading commodity.
\nSugarcane planting had then spread to Timor, Jayakarta (now
\nJakarta), Central Java, East Java and Palembang. Under Dutch
\nrule, cane sugar became a very important commodity. In 1747,
\nGreat Britain, which was at war with Napoleon's France, blockaded
\nthe trading line of cane sugar from Java. It was then that the
\nGerman chemist, Marggraf, successfully extracted sugar crystals
\nfrom the roots of sweet beet. Since then, cane sugar from Java
\nhas had to compete with beet sugar.<\/p>\n
Since the 16th century, sugarcane spread to virtually every
\ntropical region, including Central and South America. Now India,
\nChina and Australia are major sugar producers. Sugarcane has been
\nproven to grow better in areas farther from the Equator.<\/p>\n
Indonesia used to supply sugar to China, India, the Middle
\nEast and Europe, but today it imports the commodity, including
\nraw sugar. Raw sugar must be processed into refined or granulated
\nsugar before it is consumed. This could be avoided if the
\ngovernment was aware of our sugar industry's potential.<\/p>\n
Other plants can be used as sweeteners. In Europe and the
\nUnited States, apart from beet there is the sugar maple tree; the
\nstevia, the leaves of which are used as sucrose, a sweetener 15
\ntimes sweeter than cane sugar but with a very low calorie
\ncontent.<\/p>\n
Indonesia also has aren, or sugar palm, coconut, lontar
\n(Palmyra palm or Borassus flabellifer) and nipah (thatch palm or
\nNipa fruticans), all of which yield palm sugar. Made without
\nchemicals, it is now trendy in Europe, Japan and the United
\nStates. Unfortunately, the government has only introduced the
\nprocessing of crystalline sugar to coconut palm sugar makers in
\nCiamis, West Java and in Purwokerto, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Research on the potential of nipah has yet to be followed up
\nby technical applications. Lontar palmyra plants, which grow in
\ndry areas, are also in need of more serious attention. Even the
\naren trees, the greatest potential source of palm sugar, is
\nalmost extinct because the trees have been felled for their
\nstarch.<\/p>\n
Most of the cane sugar that Indonesia produces and imports
\ngoes mostly to medium and small-scale industries. High fructose
\nsyrup (HFS) is cheaper for industrial purposes. Indonesia's
\ntapioca flour, exported to the European Union, has never met its
\nquota and is mostly absorbed by the HFS and citric acid industry.<\/p>\n
Through fermentation, cheap carbohydrates can be turned into
\nHFS, citric acid, alcohol and various derivative products such as
\nmethanol (for fuel) and sorbitol (to produce the cold sensation
\nin peppermint candies, balsam, etc.). Various makes of packaged
\nsolid citric extract in our market have tapioca flour, not fresh
\noranges, as their main raw material.<\/p>\n
Besides tapioca, other plants that can be used to make HFS are
\nsweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), ganyong (edible tuber, Canna
\nedulis) and sago (Metroxylon sago\/M. rumphii). HFS of sago should
\nbe much cheaper than the same substance made of cassava or other
\ncarbohydrates. Unfortunately, this great potential has yet to be
\nproperly managed.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, professor Mubyarto strongly criticized the
\npresence of sugar mills in Java as the government continued to
\nmaintain them despite their great inefficiency. Java's sugar
\nmills should have been relocated outside Java; or alternatives
\nfor sweeteners should have been sought.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sugarcane-no-longer-sweet-for-farmers-1447893297",
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