We should feel lucky to have high capacity in the production of foodstuffs, human resources to produce, and have rich natural resources, in addition to a very large market.
By
Kompas Editor
·3 minutes read
Rice, salt and sugar cane farmers are depressed. The government announced plans to import the essential foodstuffs despite there being sufficient domestic stocks.
The government\'s plan to import 1 million tons of rice has been widely criticized. In addition to farmers, farmer groups and farmer associations, regional heads also demand the government prioritize the absorption of the farmers\' unhusked rice. Toward the peak of the grand harvest, which is estimated to be early April 2021, the prices of unhusked rice continue to decline (Kompas, 23/3/2021).
It is a similar story with the plan to import 3 million tons of salt, while this year\'s production is estimated at 2.1 million tons and the need at 4.8 million tons (Kompas, 16/3). The government\'s reason is that the imports of salt and refined sugar are for industrial purposes.
Salt farmers still have last year\'s unabsorbed salt stocks. Ironically, farmers\' salt has a salt content of NaCl above 97 percent, which means that it is included in the production quality (KP) 1 for industry. Kompas reported that in East Java, the farmers\' salt stocks were 2.9 million tons and 2.7 million tons of them were of the KP 1 type.
We should feel lucky to have high capacity in the production of foodstuffs, human resources to produce, and have rich natural resources, in addition to a very large market.
Everything must be managed properly because the production and the market do not always go hand in hand. Therefore, we need a strategy and government policy that is in line between production, processing, distribution, and how to trade them. The government needs to make the right decisions between importing and producing.
We have to admit that sometimes the decisions that are made are not always the right ones. We do not deny imports that meet certain quality, time and price requirements. However, we cannot ignore the farmers. Both interests must be accommodated as fairly as possible so that the sense of justice is not torn apart. Here the government is required to be able to balance technical, economic and social efficiency.
For millions of rice, sugarcane and salt farmers and their families, the commodities they cultivate are their main source of life.
There are countries that produce rice cheaper than Indonesia, but we must not sacrifice our farmers whose rice prices may be higher. For millions of rice, sugarcane and salt farmers and their families, the commodities they cultivate are their main source of life.
It is the government\'s duty to improve the quality of the people\'s salt, increase the productivity of rice and sugarcane farmers. The government needs to be careful about announcing plans to import essential foodstuffs because it will affect prices at home and on the international market.
Indonesia has experience in maintaining the stability of rice prices at the farmer and consumer levels without fluctuating. State Logistics Agency (Bulog) can again function as a guardian for the stability of prices and food stocks to stimulate farmer production. Meanwhile, PT Garam, a salt producer, is encouraged to become a leader in increasing domestic salt production and people\'s production in order to achieve the required quality. We can learn from that experience.