Agus, the 'director general' of farmers

Agus, the 'director general' of farmers

Paul Agusta, Contributor, Jakarta

Agus Pakpahan counts himself lucky to have been raised in a
farming community because as one of his role models, Abraham
Lincoln, once said, "Agriculture unites us".

Sitting in the large room at the Max Havelaar Indonesia
Foundation at Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto No. 113 in Central Jakarta,
the former director general of plantation production development
for the Department of Agriculture, fielded questions and
telephone calls, while periodically checking his laptop for
reference information as his staff rushed in and out.

With a Ph.D in Natural Resource Economics from Michigan State
University, Agus' life has been about culturing in the widest
sense of the word. He believes not only in tilling the fertile
soil of Indonesia's vast archipelago, but also in planting seeds
of change in the minds of the people who live here.

"Change happens through knowledge, not power," said Agus who
was born in Sumedang, West Java on Jan. 29, 1956. As evident in
his own endeavors, which include a visiting scholar program at
Cornell University and a research fellowship at the Australian
National University, he believes strongly that people can shape
their lives for the benefit of themselves, their communities and
their nation.

He again cites Lincoln whom he admires for having the ability
to pull himself up out of poverty through his own integrity. "He
was a true humanist in every sense of the word," Agus said,
adding that he also admires the country's founding father
Sukarno for having similar qualities.

Agus also holds in great esteem and tries to exemplify the
compassion both men had for their peoples who were in the midst
of massive upheavals during their presidencies.

He decried the lack of this kind of attitude among the
nation's current leaders. "Our leaders only fight with each
other, not for their people."

Agus has made a point to struggle for reform from both within
and outside of the bureaucracy. Known as "Mr. Clean" among his
former colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Agus' career
was marked by controversy and efforts at real and fundamental
change for the betterment of the farmers.

A former forestry official familiar with the former director
general's reputation, but who declined to be named, said that
Agus inspired him to remain honest and to adhere to his own
personal integrity in spite of the various temptations his own
position afforded.

When asked to make a routine "declaration of wealth" during
corruption screening at his department, the form that Agus filled
out created quite a stir among the investigators, who couldn't
figure out why this one particular bureaucrat in a powerful and
potentially "lucrative" position was not nearly as wealthy as his
counterparts in other departments.

He insisted on applying his principles to others within his
circle of influence, and was known as a mover and a shaker,
particularly in relation to the efficient and careful use of
donor aid in his work. His lack of compromise and desire to
improve his work environment finally led to a feeling of
restlessness at what he called "lack of momentum".

"I felt after four years that my creativity had declined. I
was no longer dynamic. I believe in order to maintain growth
speed, a fresh new mind-set is required from time to time," he
said. It was this feeling of being boxed in that led him to move
on from his post as the director general of plantation production
development.

"I didn't resign from the bureaucracy, I embarked on a
pilgrimage into a new field of endeavor," he said, adding that
"... I wanted to maintain my creativity in a more challenging new
field, in this case, organizing farmers and teaching them."

This was not an easy step to take, and Agus consulted with
another of his role models, his mother. "She just said if it will
benefit the farmers more, go ahead. You can be the director
general of farmers," Agus said with a fond smile.

In order to provide a solid base and clear direction for his
planned pilgrimage, on Feb. 26, 2002, Agus set up a foundation as
a vehicle for his vision of channeling the creative potential of
farmers, plantation workers and rural communities, a full year
before he left his post at the ministry.

"Everyone experiences restlessness. In 2000, this country was
in bad shape. So I asked myself a question. Who really cares
about this country's people?" he explained. "Then, I remembered
the book Max Havelaar, and how a foreigner cared so much about
this country's people, and I took that as inspiration.

Agus believes that the author of Max Havelaar, Douwes Dekker,
whose pen name was Multatuli, could serve as a source of
inspiration to help the people here love their country more.

Among the activities Agus has undertaken with his foundation
is the establishment of the Collective of Plantation Farmers
Organizations (Gappindo), which unites the voices and strength of
the farmers as leverage toward more reasonable prices and greater
access to markets.

"The market is dominated by a handful of companies or traders
who determine prices, and the farmers are not organized enough to
be able to bargain," Agus complained.

It is his dream to provide the farmers with better knowledge
and skills to organize and leverage their potential in order to
empower them with greater negotiating leeway. In order to do this
he has established and funds the publication of the Sugar
Observer, a weekly trade paper that focuses on educating cane
farmers in the most recent developments and techniques.

"Sugar is the best sector to teach the best lessons in how
agriculture can work to our benefit," he explained.

"If we can't solve our sugar problems, none of our other
problems will be solved."

He said further that he meant for the Sugar Observer to
develop knowledge and concern among the people working in the
industry to fight the "crippling import dependent mind-set"
through discussion of economics, as well as science,
environmental issues and culture.

And Agus' dream for the people living in the agricultural
sector is for Gappindo to help the farmers develop trading
houses, financial institutions for farmers, a comprehensive
educational institute for agriculture, and increase communication
among farmers associations throughout Indonesia.

But most importantly, Agus said, "I want to put the culture
back in agriculture."