Baharuddin, Life and Death for Farming

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO

Baharuddin

For Baharuddin, 57, farming is his calling and a matter of life and death. He cultivates rice, chili and corn amidst the massive coal mine in Makroman subdistrict of Samarinda municipality, East Kalimantan. He has never been tempted to sell his farm at any price.

About six years ago, Baharuddin received an offer of Rp 5 billion for his 10-hectare farm. He not only flatly refused the offer, but also encouraged other farmers in Makroman’s RT 013 neighborhood unit to stay strong and not to sell their farms to the coal mine. He believes that the compensation from the mine company would not guarantee their survival.

“If I sold my rice field, I will only enjoy the benefits briefly. After that, what my family will eat? They cannot eat coal, can they?” Baharuddin said in mid-November at his home in Makroman subdistrict, Sambutan district, Samarinda.

Living in a wooden stilt house, Baharuddin and his wife and children rely on their crops, the fruits of their hard work. In addition to farming rice, he cultivates chili, corn, fruits and freshwater fish farming. He also raised chickens under his house.

Before becoming a farmer, Baharuddin was the freight transport supervisor at Segiri Market, the largest market in Samarinda. Armed with a law degree, he quickly set up the Samarinda branch of the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI).

He helped unemployed local residents get jobs as freight workers at Segiri Market. After 16 years living on other people’s sweat, he changed his mind. “I didn’t want to continue eating from the energy my men spent,” he said.

In 2000, Baharuddin handed over his position as the SPSI Samarinda chair to his younger brother and moved to Makroman, a suburb of Samarinda. He bought 6 hectares of land and a tractor.

When he first moved to Makroman, Baharuddin tried his luck at farming fish. He farmed betutu (marble goby), tilapia, mas (carp) and gurami (gourami). His business grew. He was able to supply marble goby to several regions and even export the fish to Singapore and Japan. Earning a profit of Rp 300 million, he then bought 4 hectares of rice fields.

Success continued to arrive as a fish and rice farmer. He shared his knowledge and skills by establishing the Tunas Muda Farmers Group. Thanks to Baharuddin’s hard work, the membership of his farmers group grew.

Tunas Muda Farmers Group has 30 members with a combined farming area of around 35 hectares. In addition to Baharuddin’s farmers group, there are two other farmer groups in Makroman. These three

farmer groups manage a total farming area of around 100 hectares.

Damaging mine

The food security efforts of Baharuddin and other Makroman farmers were disrupted when a coal mining company arrived in 2008 to buy land at high prices. The mine company also lured residents to work at the mine for salaries much higher than the salaries of factory workers in Samarinda.

Some farmers were tempted by the offer and sold their land. In addition, many young people decided to work at the mine instead of finishing their education.

It didn’t take long before the mine surrounded Makroman’s farming area. The rice fields and farms of the farmers who did not sell eventually became contaminated by coal waste. Clean water sources also disappeared as an impact of the mining operation. The farmers’ harvests failed.

Baharuddin experienced the same situation. Initially, he was able to produce an average yield of 6 tons per hectare of unhusked rice. However, since the coal mine began operating in 2008, his production dropped to 2-4 tons per hectare per harvest. In addition, his fishpond became contaminated with liquid coal waste, which seeped into the pond with the rainwater that flowed down from the hills. “The fish died from mine water. All the fish were gone,” he said in a tone of irritation.

As a result, Baharuddin had to switch to other commodities to survive. He closed some of his fishponds and turned them into gardens for growing chili and corn, which were more resistant to pollution and did not need frequent irrigation, since the area faced a clean water shortage from the large-scale mining activity.

Even though his income plummeted because his rice harvest failed several times and his fish died, he remained unmoved when the mine company offered to buy his land. He said he was still surviving and that if he sold his land, other farmers would also sell their rice fields and farms.

Instead, he encouraged the farmers to take a stand when their fields and gardens were polluted by waste from the coal. They sued the mining company on behalf of the affected farmers and urged the Samarinda municipal administration to build facilities to support the Makroman farmers. “If there are no farmers, where would the Samarinda residents get their food?” he said.

Baharuddin’s persistence received a positive response from the Samarinda administration. In 2015, it built an irrigation canal and electricity network in Makroman. The administration also assisted the farmers by providing two tractors.

Inspiring others

After receiving a variety of agricultural aid from the local administration for Makroman’s farmers, Baharuddin developed an integrated farming program. He got the idea from his father, who was also a farmer.

Through the program, he invited farmers to utilize all the land they owned. For example, when the farmers plant rice in their paddies, they also planted a secondary crop. They planted long beans, beans and corn, and the farmers made more profit than if they had just planted rice.

During the dry season, they cultivate drought-resistant vegetables and drain their rice fields. This was their solution to the water from the irrigation canal, which had also become contaminated with mine waste.

The farmers accepted Baharuddin’s idea y. They also applied the knowledge he shared with them. Ultimately, they were not dependent only on their rice crops, but were also able to benefit from the other food crops they grew.

Baharuddin has proven that farming feeds many people and that he would continue to grow as a farmer. (PDS/BKY)

Baharuddin

Born: Sengkang, Wajo regency, South Sulawesi, May 5, 1961

Wife: Susilawati, 43

Child: Amiruddin, 22

Adopted children: Magdalena, 21, Muhammad Ridwan, 24, Irman Irawan, 42

Education:

- Law School, 17 August University, Samarinda, East Kalimantan

- SMA Negeri 2 Samarinda senior high school

- SMP Negeri 5 Samarinda junior high school

- SD Kampiri elementary school, Sengkang, Wajo regency, South Sulawesi