Govt will to help farmers doubted

Govt will to help farmers doubted

President Abdurrahman Wahid commemorated the World Food Day on
Monday by warning farmers to adapt to free-market conditions as
the government would scrap the protection of subsidies in 2002.
Meanwhile, director general of foodcrops Saripuddin Karama,
claimed Indonesia has again become self-sufficient in rice after
a decade-long slump in production. These remarks came amid
farmers' cries for help because of plunging prices due to
imported and "semi-smuggled" rice. The Jakarta Post spoke about
the issue recently with a professor of the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture, Didin S. Damanhuri. A related article is also run on
this page.

Question:Farmers are suffering from poor rice prices. If this
is a disease, the conditions would be acute. What emergency
treatments do you suggest the government take?

Answer: The necessary steps are clear. Firstly, stop rice
imports. Secondly, control (the distribution) of imported rice
that is already here. Next, take measures against illegal rice
importers. Then, reallocate the windfall profit from oil prices
to purchase the farmers' rice stocks regardless of their quality.

Then, at the regional level, provincial and regency
administrations should cooperate with farmers association to
build rice barns (so farmers can keep their stocks until prices
are better). In this approach, farmers become subjects (of a
process). They are given the options to think about how to raise
the funds to build good barns.

The longer-term approach to take would be to revive the
National Logistics Agency (Bulog) buffer stocks, in case the
farmers stop producing. In the meantime, reform the central and
regional logistics agencies -- something that Coordinating
Minister of Economics Rizal Ramli has initiated but far from
completed yet.

The regional and local logistics agencies must be pushed to
purchase the farmers' rice stocks -- something that many
logistics agencies have often refused to do because they did not
have enough funds.

If the government has the political will to take care of the
problem, and really allocate the windfall to help farmers and
really clean the (rice production and trade), Insya Allah (God
willing), the farmers can really be rescued.

What if those measures are not taken?

Don't forget, we are talking about millions of people here.
What if disgruntled farmers organize themselves and revolt? It's
a scary thought. Even now there are farmers in various
organizations who have established their own organizations (out
of frustration).

Evil as it was, the New Order regime was the time when farmers
were made into success stories in the 80s -- even if agriculture
remained merely a support staff for the pillar of industry.

This administration under Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid) has not
even tried to show any efforts (to accomplish the same feat).
Instead, his administration is bailing out errant debtors who are
mostly large corporations -- Gus Dur should be warned that he
shouldn't let his administration become the second New Order (in
terms of supporting big businesses at the expense of other
segments in society). Those big debtors should just be declared
bankrupt.

Gus Dur should instead develop agribusiness. Only then can we
get on with our economic reform and correct past mistakes.

Let's go back a bit. What caused the rice prices to drop?

It's a complicated matter, but mostly it is caused by the
imported rice influx. Speculators are having a field day, they
are acting like Bulog in reverse, hoarding stocks for their own
profiteering.

The second cause is simultaneous harvests in some places which
led to an oversupply. And certainly there is the involvement of
tengkulak (loan-sharks who buy crops from cash-strapped farmers
at the early planting stage); they either collaborate with the
"rice mafia" or play individually.

They distort prices, they manage to purchase rice for Rp
400/kg from the farmers. On top of that, farmers have to deal
with imported and "illegally imported" rice. We should not let
the "rice mafia" pile up further profits.

When Bulog was still an active agency, the farmers were
relatively protected. (Following agreements with the IMF) the
functions of the body were reduced drastically. What we have now
is an irrational price decline. This is no longer the market
forces at work.

How are we going to stop the speculators?

Bulog, the agriculture ministry, the trade and industry
ministry, police and intelligence should all cooperate and fight
them.

Certain circles know how the "rice mafia" operate. They
manipulate documents for certain import procedures. They buy
cheap rice from overseas, and hoard it in some warehouses rented
illegally with the collaboration of some insiders. This mafia may
involve people from within Bulog, the trade and industry
ministry, the agriculture ministry and customs. Without such
collusion, they would not have such a smooth operation.

I know for sure that at one time, when Bulog still had a
substantial role, these people manipulated the import documents
and increased import from 2.75 million tones to 3.4 million
tones. Within a short period of time, they made a profit of an
estimated Rp 2 trillion. We can imagine what a party they had
when (former minister) Rahadi Ramelan liberated rice imports with
a tax holiday.

Some parties are bound to resist should the government execute
the emergency measures you are proposing.

I am sure there will be great resistance from many people who
have so far been profiting from the situation. May be the
coordinating minister dares should cooperate with the military,
the intelligence and other agencies.

But if he really dares take these steps, people's trust in the
government would return. That's what has been missing, the
people's trust.

Of course the resistance would be great. But the people, and
farmers who make up the majority of our population, would stand
behind (Rizal). They are now increasingly aware of their rights.
Surely they will support Rizal if he takes those steps.

Do you think the government will eventually engage in those
steps?

Actually, I am now a bit pessimistic. I know they, Gus Dur,
Rizal, can do that, but I am pessimistic they will do it. You
know, I agree with (Musa Hubeis) who calls those who profiteer
from farmers as traitors. They are traitors.

But we understand how sensitive this matter is. Rice is a
sensitive matter. Some people can provoke unrest using the issue
of rice. They can manipulate sentiments in such a way that leads
to separatism, that leads to disintegration. Provocateurs can
have a field day exploiting the issue of rice.

We all know there are many businesspeople who, during the New
Order regime, made trillions of rupiah from (exploiting) rice
prices, and surely they would resist any effort to stop this
situation. They would still want to retain (the conditions that
enable them to make large profits).

Now if our farmers do not trust the government, do not believe
in the steps that the government is taking, I am really worried
about what might happen.

Indonesia will need a paradigm shift if it wishes to turn
agribusiness into the mainstay of its industry. Do you think the
current administration is working toward that?

Gus Dur's inclination toward shifting the national industry
paradigm is zero. Even Rizal Ramli's ten-step plan of action is
still far from introducing that shift. His programs on farming,
research and development, for instance, barely touch on the need
for a paradigm shift. This is despite the importance of having
one. Our entry point would be the rice farmers.

Is there anyone you hoped would initiate the paradigm shift?

Rizal should be the one. I know him well, we studied together.
He should be bold and take radical actions. So far, he is only
spoiling big businesses through the MSAA, despite the fact that
they are obviously so uncooperative. (swe)