Local Farmer Who Spoke at the UN
Suryono
No one can predict where one’s life will lead. In his book From Comfort Zone to Performance Management, behavioral psychologist Alasdair AK White writes that a majority of people chooseto remain in their comfort zone. Neutrality without worry. However, many dare to take the decision to change their future.
Suryono, 45, is one of those who dared to take a major, life-changing decision. He is a farmer from Pinang Sebatang Barat village, Tualang district, Siak regency, Riau.
He chose to quit his job as a tree feller at a land clearing company 12 years ago and embarked on a new life as a horticultural farmer. The decision has brought him to places beyond his wildest dreams.
Suryono was the only Indonesian farmer to speak at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Summit in Morocco in November 2016. Previously, he was awarded the government’s Adikarya Pangan Nusantara star in 2015 and was named the Best Siak Farmer in Horticulture in 2016. Most recently, the father of three was chosen as one of the “72 Icons of Indonesian Achievement” (Ikon 72).
Ikon 72 is a list of 72 Indonesians deemed to have made great achievements that can spread national pride and inspire others to celebrate the values of Pancasila. The 72 individuals are selected by the Presidential Working Unit for Pancasila Ideology Development.
In 2000, when he had just one daughter, Suryono moved to Riau to work as a laborer at a land clearing company. After five years, he felt weary of working against his conscience under pressure and other men’s orders.
“I quit and pledged to make a life of my own. If other people can do it, why can’t I?” Suryono told Kompas in an interview late August in Pekanbaru.
Suryono then began planting vegetables in his yard. He only had a strong will. He had no background in farming. At first, his family did not eat rice for several days each week, as his harvest was not enough to meet his family’s needs.
“If we had no rice, we had to eat cassava,” Suryono said.
Nevertheless, he remained spirited. He refused to be bogged down by his failures. His luck improved when the Siak regency administration gave him an opportunity to participate in an agricultural training program in 2006 in Jatisari, West Java.
“People in Java have no knowledge of oil palms, but the vegetable farmers there are prosperous. I became more enthusiastic. Thanks to the knowledge from the training, I had good results,” Suryono said.
After his earnings improved, he cut down his oil palms in 2008 to expand his crop farm. His earnings increased, but remained unstable as middlemen manipulated crop prices.
Suryono then became active in Serikat Tani Riau, a farmers’ union that often holds peaceful protests against land concessions held by Sinar Mas Forestry. He then became a protest leader. Sinar Mas ended up providing 750 hectares of its concessions for locals to grow crops.
Once his protesting days ended, Suryono headed the Nelayan Andalan farmers group in Tualang district in 2010. There, he became friends with farmers group secretary Miswanto, an employee of PT Arara Abadi (a Sinar Mas Group partner). Suryono then participated in another training at the Community Development and Training Center (BPPM) managed by the Sinar Mas Group.
Miswanto, whose wife is a trader at the local market, then suggested Suryono to change his harvest sales. Instead of selling his harvest to middlemen, he was urged to sell it directly at the local market.
Market trader
Suryono then became a farmer-trader. After selling his own produce at the market, he was able to observe his customers’ needs. By predicting the market share for agricultural products, he was able to make proper agricultural management plans. Slowly, his earnings stabilized and began to improve.
Nowadays, Suryono said, he could make a gross monthly income of Rp 30 million (US$2,274.62). He has six workers he pays from Rp 2 million to Rp 3 million in monthly wages.
Sinar Mas BPPM head Undang Nurzihad said that Suryono was always modest about his earnings. Last year, Suryono’s chilies earned him Rp 300 million with a planting cost of only Rp 45 million.
Suryono is generous about sharing his knowledge. He is ready to help anyone who wants to learn from him. People can freely take internship jobs at his farm so they can learn by doing. Once they can be independent farmers, Suryono then asks his interns to set up their own businesses. His students are commonly local residents, but others come from far away, such as North Sumatra.
Since the haze disaster of 2014, Suryono has continuously asked his peers not to burn their harvest residue. Having similar aims, the Sinar Mas Group asked him to join its Fire-Aware Prosperous Village (DMPA) program. The group’s work is similar to Suryono’s, and provides training to local farmers,husbandry breeders and fish farmers. The Sinar Mas Group provides credit assistance without interest or collateral to the farmers group that Suryono chairs.
Members of the DMPA program must be genuine, dedicated farmers, and must actively participate in the program’s efforts to prevent peatland fires. Fire prevention is a regular discussion topic at all DMPA meetings.
In order to avoid burning the land, farmers are taught to process their harvest waste into compost. Corn and other crop wastes are chopped up and used as cattle feed. Animal waste is used as fertilizer.
“Firefighting training is given to group members. If they cannot put out a fire on their own, they need to ask for help from local officials. Since the DMPA was established, there has yet to be any peatland fire,” said Suryono.
Suryono and his group’s activities have attracted international attention. People from countries in Europe and the Americas, as well as Indian and Australian nationals have visited his farm to observe his fire-free farming initiatives. This was why he was chosen to speak at the UN’s Morocco Summit.
After returning from Morocco, Suryono became involved in even more activities. Despite having only an elementary school education, he now often teaches university students, including at Andalas University in Padang and the Riau Islamic University. He often shares his knowledge in other villages and districts, even provinces.
