To support farmers by real actions

I refer to the article by Benget Simbolon in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 28 entitled Give farmers the attention they deserve, and would like to comment as follows.

My father is a farmer in a village named Urung Panei, Simalungun. Luckily, he does not have to rent land; he owns the land. As we know, there are many farmers who do not own any land, they have to rent it or simply become laborers for land owners.

In Indonesia, it is no secret that the government has never been serious about supporting the farmers, even though, 70 percent of the population are farmers, as mentioned in the article.

There are various opinions on how to support our farmers. Almost all of our political parties, during their campaigns to get more votes, were smart enough in selling their promises. However, the majority of our farmers are still poor, economically, politically and socially.

With about 70 percent of Indonesia's population being farmers, why don't we establish a party, the members of which would mainly be farmers. The party would definitely have a big number of members, and would have a significant bargaining position in the political arena.

In my opinion, at least from my experience as a farmer's daughter, the government has systematically marginalized the majority of our farmers, and benefited from their hard labor. The government gives too many promises without any concrete actions to support them.

In my village, Urung Panei, the farmers have to survive without aid from the government. Chemical fertilizers have been creating a lot of problems both for human beings and the environment. Ten or 20 years ago things were different. Farmers used less fertilizer and pesticides for farming.

As is always the case that farmers must buy expensive fertilizers and yet their products do not sell well. Yet they cannot do anything about it and have to surrender to what the market dictates.

Are we going to let our farmers forever remain powerless and poor? If Japan, South Korea, America and other countries (their governments and citizens) can protect and support their farmers, why can't we? Concern is not enough. It has to be manifest in actions as individuals, communities and as a nation. We need real action, not just attention. LIMANTINA SIHALOHO Simalungun, North Sumatra