Draft Decree a Threat to Indonesia's Farmers, Experts Say

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Arti Ekawati, Jakarta Globe 26 Apr 10;

The government is coming under strong pressure to revise a draft ministerial decree that would require farmers to seek permits to cultivate food crops.

The Ministry of Agriculture is planning to introduce a decree that many have criticized as being a tool for big companies to dictate their needs and an opening for illegal levies at the district level.

Speaking at a news conference at the House of Representatives, Firman Subagyo, deputy chairman of Commission IV, which oversees agricultural affairs, said the decree threatened the existence of small-scale farmers in the country.

Firman said the decree stipulated that farmers who owned land measuring less than 25 hectares and had at least 10 workers must obtain a license from their local government before planting crops.

He said most farmers in the country only had small plots and were accustomed to helping each other work the land. Thus, even a one-hectare field may have 10 or more people working on it.

“The decree is dangerous,” he said. “Many small-scale farmers would be taken to prison or fined just because they were helping each other. That’s why we reject it and demand the government discard the decree.”

Honning Sanny, a member of the commission, said the decree specified 11 requirements that farmers must meet to obtain a license to plant crops.

He said these requirements would limit small-scale farmers because they would have to seek permits, which would make them vulnerable to local officials seeking illegal levies.

“I am sure that all of these regulations are meant to provide the means for big companies to remove local farmers from the competition,” Honning said.

Firman said the commission would take steps to block the decree, including, if necessary, filing a request for the impeachment of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the grounds that he was violating the Constitution.

“We have about 43 million farmers, of whom 23.6 million are small-scale farmers,” he said. “They’re ready to go to Jakarta to hold a rally protesting this unfair decree.”

Dwi Astuti, executive director of Bina Desa, a nongovernmental organization involved in agricultural issues, said during the news conference that the proposed decree was clearly an effort to liberalize the agricultural industry.

“The regulations are ironic in the face of the government’s statement that they are meant to provide enough food for the country,” she said.

The draft ministerial decree was drawn up to implement a government regulation signed in January on food crop plantations, or food estates.

On Friday, Agriculture Minister Suswono promised to revise the decree.

Suswono said that if farmers registered themselves and their crops with their local governments that would allow a more effective distribution of supporting materials such as fertilizers and seeds.

Ahmad Muqowam, chairman of House Commission IV, said the government needed to practice greater care when issuing new regulations, particularly those involving licences from local administrations.

Muqowan cited the many instances of local and central government licenses overlapping in the forestry sector. “Do we want to repeat this in the agricultural sector?,” he asked.

If passed, he said, the ministerial decree would trigger a massive land grab in the agricultural sector.

Rahmat Pambudi, secretary general of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI), said the ministerial decree would not help small-scale farmers, and would instead prove to be a burden.