Movement to Save Indonesian Peasants

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Rice to the Indonesian people and even to some countries, particularly in Asia, is the source of life: “rice is our life”. Rice is the main food of 97 percent of Indonesian people. The rice enterprise supports 24 millions of families from the total of 53 millions of families in Indonesia. The crucial of rice for food security, the welfare of the peasants, and the stability of politic, let the govt. to control and intervene. It happens not only in least developed or developing countries, but also well developed countries.

The govt. supports the paddy peasants with the input supply, subsidy, agricultural extension, and price guarantee in order to let them continue their rice enterprise, so the rice imports are very restricted through the policy of high import tariff and even the rice imports ban.

In Indonesia, the President SBY as the Chairman of National Food Security has taken over the authority on the rice case resulted on the opening of rice import faucet for about 110.000 tons per January. We have known exactly that the motive is for the interest of political stability and power longevity of SBY’s. How about the peasants’ welfare? It’s none for them.


The reasons which have always said by the govt. in importing rice are; First it is because the rice price reach for the critical point, i.e. 3500/kg. Second, it is because the supply at the State Logistics Agency is less than 1 million ton of rice. These two reasons that become the basic of rice import policy.

As a matter of fact, we have known that the price reaching for the critical point is a common thing due to the fuel rising reaching for multiply twice since the production costs of the peasants increased from seeds, tractor rent, and transportation. The peasants lost many potential sources which should be some additional points due to the rice mill owned not by the peasants, starting from husk, grains of rice, and mixture of rice and bran.

In addition, the economic interest in the rice trade is very long. It has to be cut so the consumers and the peasants enjoy the advantage. However, the increase on the rice price is only enjoyed by some peasants having stored the unhusked paddy of the last December crops. Now, those unhusked paddy has become rice. The rice has been in the hand of the traders not in the peasants’ hand anymore. The indication of rice hoarding in 2006 becomes relevant seeing from the lack of information in some areas causing a rapid and systematic increase.

It is the responsible and the role of the govt. to protect the peasants and the poor consumers due to the fuel raising sold expensively by the govt. Now, due to the fuel raising in last October 2005 reaching up to 100 %, the price of all staple food have increased. For example, the sugar price became Rp. 6000- Rp. 8000/kg from the previous price of Rp. 3.500, the egg price became Rp. 8.500 –Rp. 10.00/kg, these things has caused other food prices higher 30 %. It means that the govt. themselves are not ready for the following impact of the fuels rising. Currently, the State Owned Electricity Company has been uproar to increase the basic tariff of electricity. So, discussing only the rice price is irrelevant.


Afterwards, on the rice supply, the Minister of Agriculture as the operational chairman of Food Security Body had several times convinced the President as the Chairman of the Food Security Body that the national rice supply is surplus for more than 2.1 million tons.
Remember that the first stage policy of rice imports December 2005 ago was set after the Vice President, the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Cooperation and Public Welfare held a coordination meeting on 22 October 2005 without involving the Minister of Agriculture, who has more or less data information about rice. The problem of rice supply is a classic thing starting from 1998 in Indonesia. It is this year indicating that Indonesia has become the rice net importer, interspersed with the “safe time” for more or less 9 months (Januari 2005-September 2005) when the rice import is banned. The inaccurate data and the chaos between the Department of Trade and the Department of Agriculture, in this case, seem to be a legitimation for the import policy. In addition, the international pressure coming from the World Trade Organization forcing to open and liberalize the agriculture market, and the bureaucrat mental trade have worsened the problems. However, the definite one's is that the peasants are the last part of this chain having always suffered from the biggest loss.

The role of the State Logistics Agency to buy the peasants’ rice did not do maximally as well. It is clear that the reason is solely profit and loss calculation since we have already known that the State Logistics Agency has become a public corporation meaning it has been a profit-oriented institution.

This can be seen from the time given to buy the peasants’ rice is very short that is only 12 days, the State Logistics Agency concentrates only in Java Island, whereas in the South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan the rice supply is still a lot. The State Logistics Agency also gives the heavy terms and conditions intentionally.

Highlighting the role of the State Logistics Agency since the issued of the Law No. 19/2003 on the State-Owned Enterprises, the State Logistics Agency is a state company, not a Govt.’s Non-Department Institution anymore, meaning that its role is only as a technical or operational organizer. As a technical organizer, it is forbidden to interfere the food and rice regulations.

Recently, the Vietnamese rice (less than 850.000 tons from the first plan of 110.000 tons) has entered some harbors in some areas in Indonesia. According to the Minister of Trade, the entrance paths of the import rice are the minus areas. In fact, the Belawan Harbor in North Sumatra also becomes the entrance of the import rice, which according to the Head of Public Relation of the State Logistics Agency for North Sumatra I Regional, Haris Fadillah Lubis, saying that they still have the supply of 31.200 tons of rice per 16 January 2006. This supply is sufficient to fill the rice need up to next four months (Indonesian business, 19 January 2006).

The Rice Import Ban and the Future Step
At the present time, the Minister of Trade has issued a Circular Letter about the rice import ban until June 2006 since February 2006, now the great harvest time of the planting season 2005-2006 is going to come. According to the data of the Department until April 2006 we still can produce 15 million tons. Therefore, we want the State Logistics Agency to be ready to obtain the peasants’ unhusked paddy with the minimum price of the govt.’s buying price Rp. 1. 730 (Harvest Dried-Unhusked Paddy). This step is taken to anticipate the collapse of the unhusked paddy price due to the rainy season, high transportation fares, and the increase of the rice price in the market.

One more step to be done by the govt. is to make and to organize the blue print of the national agriculture development, having ignored now. Since its issued, the peasants think that the program of Agriculture Revitalization is only a rhetoric.

The govt. of SBY-Kalla does not close their eyes as well to the agrarian reform which is the basic principle for the achieved of people’s Food Sovereignty. In fact, in their campaign toward the Presidential chair, SBY promised that the agrarian reform would be realized in the program of economic-politic. In Indonesia, majority of the peasants is small-peasant owning land less than 0.5 ha. “If they do not have land, how production will increase?. The imbalance of the agrarian structure has stuck the rice supply. So, the peasants demand on the implementation of the genuine agrarian reform expected will be the basic of the national agriculture development’s blueprint. With this agrarian reform, the rice and other food productions will fill the domestic demand and by the achieved of the peasants’ access toward the production sources, it will become a clear point for the Indonesian agriculture. Do not let our income empty because of unable to manage the food. Each year, to import the rice, soy bean, sugar, corn, and meat, the govt. has to spend more than Rp. 17.6 trillion (State Minister for the State-owned Enterprise, Sugiharto).

Therefore, it is obvious that the government have to change its policy structure into the policy which sides on the peasants. If there is no blueprint and initiative politically on the agriculture yet, the import will continuously become a standard formulation to fill the rice need in Indonesian. Agriculture is the real sector which should be protected and become the backbone of the country, since Indonesia is the agrarian country. The agrarian reform has to be implemented as the main requirement to achieve the food sovereignty for the whole Indonesian people. ***


"There will be no developed and sovereign country, if the food needs depend on imports!"
SAVE THE INDONESIAN PEASANTS!!
REJECT THE RICE IMPORTS AND BUY THE LOCAL RICE...!!
LONG LIVE THE PEASANTS!!
LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE!!!

A Plate for Indonesia
Responsible Persons

1. Rieke Diah Pitaloka
2. Franky Sahilatua

Join Committees:
1. Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union (FSPI)
2. Indonesian Peasant Union (STN)
3. Dewan Tani Indonesia (DTI)
4. Wahana Tani Indonesian (WAMTI)
5. Ikatan Petani PHT Indonesia (IPPHTI)
6. People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP)
7. Bina Desa (BINDES)
8. Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI)
9. FIELD
10. Institute Global Justice (IGJ)
11. INFID
12. IPNU
13. IPPNU