Food estate makes Indonesian peasants laborers on their own land

Indonesian Peasants’ Union (SPI)

(Original version in Bahasa Indonesia is available here)

17 December 2009

Photo: SPI

Entering the year 2010, Indonesia will record the dark history in food crop agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture was about to design a Government Regulation (PP) of food estate or large-scale agricultural food crop after previously only included it in the Presidential Regulation No. 77/2007 on the List of Closed and Open Business Fields. This can be seen as the validation of "expropriation of land" (land grabbing), when the big local and foreign businessmen come on behalf of government's mandate to compete with small farmer.

Food Estate is a concept of developing food production which is done in an integrated way including agriculture, plantation, and even livestock, residing in the vast land. In a simple word, food estate is a concept of food industry settlement.

For the sake of attracting investors (capitalists) and deal with problems of food security, the government made the Food Estate as a way out to overcome food shortage in the country. The development program of large-scale crops became the main target of Indonesian Agriculture Minister, Suswono, in 100 days agriculture program of new administration. The real target was actually to make Government Regulation (PP) which will be a legal umbrella for the entry of foreign private sector to manage food crops.

One of the rules that have been issued is Presidential Instruction No. 5 / 2008 about Focus of 2008-2009 Economic Programs including regulation on Large Scale Food Investment (Food Estate). This Presidential Instruction, in government’s view aims to answer national food problems by providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to develop "plantation" crops.

Currently there are at least six national private sectors that ready to invest and develop agribusiness in Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFE). The investors are Bangun Tjipta, Medco Group, Comexindo International, Digul Agro Lestari, Buana Agro Tama, and Wolo Agro Makmur. In fact, investors from Saudi Arabia, from Binladen business groups had also assessed the land of Merauke.

We all realize that the government reason on declining agricultural sector in Indonesia always about lack of capital and land conversion. Yet the basic problem of agriculture in this country is not merely about the capital, but also a problem with the political economic system. The possibility of giant investors coming to control the land and put poor countries as the basis for staple food production facilities, have got strong international criticism. In Indonesia, the Indonesian Peasants' Union (SPI) deplored the government's policy choice to boost production by encouraging food estates. With the government's reasons for pushing democratic economics, the country is increasingly fettered by foreign capital and liberalizing all sectors that would threaten food sovereignty.

"The government made several efforts to increase national food production, especially rice. Unfortunately, the government encourages the food estate program instead of solving the basic problem in agriculture. In fact, the main problem of our agriculture is the low ownership of agricultural land, "said Henry Saragih, Chairman of the SPI.

The government is only focused on the interests of investors to come to Indonesia. The government should make this country independence on behalf of people’s interest. It can be estimated that this food estate program would attract foreign investors because it will be much easier to "own" and manage land in Indonesia. This food estate can lead to feudalism because the role of indigenous farmers only as partners or "labor" for investors.

The government predicts that they will get benefit from food estate program, such as to open higher employment opportunities, increased tax revenues, and added non-tax revenue. However, they don’t think about the consequences that the farmers will still be labor in their own country. Governments should think of how millions of abandoned land can be managed by Indonesian farmers instead of give it to foreign investors.
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