Ridding West Kalimantan of the rubber mafia

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Repression and other injustices are common here, leaving rubber farmers powerless to lift themselves out of poverty.

These practices have gone past all tolerable limits and must be stopped, so says a declaration by a number of local rubber farmers.

As many as 220 rubber farmers representing their colleagues throughout West Kalimantan made public this declaration on May 31, 2001, in Pontianak.

They have also formed the Rubber Farmers Union (SPK), the first and largest ever such union established here. A three-day conference held in Pontianak and attended by 220 farmers led to the farmers' vision and mission.

According to Rusli, the chairman of the farmers' representatives, the union intends to bring about sovereignty, justice, dignity and improved welfare for rubber farmers.

"This organization is set up to protect, enlighten, enhance the resources, improve the quality and strengthen the farmers' bargaining position in the rubber trade," he explained.

Kapitai, a 55-year-old farmer in Simpang Dua village, Ketapang regency, gladly welcomed the presence of the union. "We hope the organization will strive for a constant price on the market and to improve the fate of rubber farmers."

Self-organization and the establishment of a union is one of the efforts being made by rubber farmers to reduce the long chain in the rubber business: farmer, to local trader, to big trader, to broker, to factory, to export.

The maze of the rubber trade still represents one of the main hurdles farmers must overcome to improve their welfare. This long chain in the rubber trade explains why farmers in the villages are poorly paid. Prices vary according to the distance between the farmer's rubber plantation and the rubber-processing center.

According to Djuweng, SPK is aimed at mustering the strength, skills and potential of the farmers in order to achieve self- reliance in economic, social, political and cultural fields, as well as to manage their environment.

Now the union is engaged in activities such as training the farmers, participating in policy-making at the local, national and international levels, cooperating with private or governmental agencies, both here and abroad, conducting studies, and research, disseminating information and becoming involved in other lines of business that are not in contravention of the union's vision and mission.

Membership in the union comprises rubber farmers, traders and those who have an interest in the rubber business. Once every three years, SPK will convene a meeting to reappoint and replace members of the union's council, which consists of 35 representatives and the SPK's working committee and is responsible for setting forth various policies for the organization. The council representatives are elected from different districts and are in charge of supervising the executive body.

The farmers are placing their hopes squarely on the union to free them from the shackles of poverty.

According to Djuweng, from 2001 to 2004 SPK will undertake a number of activities, all aimed at boosting the dignity and welfare of rubber farmers. (Edi Petebang)