Despite a lot of challenges, some Indonesian farmers are producing premium quality commodities. They feed the world while maintaining sustainable practices.
At the end of October, a traditional celebration marked the export of 16.8 tonnes of organic rice from a farmer organization in Mekarwangi Village, located in the mountainous region of West Java, Indonesia. The rice was destined for Italy.
Last year, the Association of Organic Rice of Tasikmalaya (Simpatik) had exported 140 tonnes of organic rice to various countries including Germany, Belgium and the United States.
Farm members of Simpatik are small Indonesian farms who produce commodities important to the rest of the world.
Farmers in Boyolali, Central Java; Flores, East Nusa Tenggara; and Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi, are producing various products of premium quality and high standards for international consumers.
In fact, like Indonesian farmers in general, most of the members of Simpatik have small farms. They only have between 0.5 to 2 hectares of rice farmland compared to farmers in New Zealand who own about 400 to 1,000 hectares of farmland. On the other hand, most Indonesian farmers also produce to fulfill their own daily need (sustenance).
Beside small farms, Indonesian farmers are also facing challenges including less income, lack of post-harvesting and marketing skills, and also lack of business capacity and capital.
Similar to other countries in Southeast Asia, the number of farmers in Indonesia also has decreased recently. In 2013, there were 26.13 million farm households, decreasing by 5.04 million since 2003. Indonesia has 250 million people, which makes the country the fifth largest population in the world.
Despite the challenges, some small farms in Indonesia continue to build hope and change. Even if it is just a small number among the 41 millions farmers in Indonesia, organic farmers like in Tasikmalaya could be the future of Indonesian agriculture.
Even from small areas of farmland, they can produce high quality commodities. One of the ways to do this is by practising sustainable agriculture or organic farming. Some farmers have chosen this method after years of intensive chemical inputs that started in the 1970’s as part of the Green Revolution.
Small farms practising sustainable agriculture are mostly farmers who are producing international commodities such as rice, coffee, and cocoa. Those three commodities are just as important as palm oil, rubber, cassava, and corn.
Those small farms do not merely fulfill the domestic need of Indonesian people, but also produce food for international consumers.
Photo: Jimmy Kets