Improving the Welfare of Residents in the Barren Land

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

A sugarcane plantation owned by PT Muria Sumba Manis transforms the previously barren and dry land into a green area. The company has planted sugarcanes on 1,250 hectares out of the total target of 7,500 ha. By 2020, the sugarcanes will be processed into sugar near the plantation area, namely Wanga village, East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara.

Now there is something different in the hilly areas of Wanga, East Sumba. The arid land is becoming green due to a sugarcane plantation. Residents also now have alternative employment in addition to becoming migrant workers in Malaysia. The crime rate is down, while security is maintained.

At 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday (17/5/2018), dozens of workers were busy working in the sugar plantation of PT Muria Sumba Manis (MSM) on 2 hectares out of the total area of 1,250 ha under development. They came from 10 villages in four districts, namely Umalulu, Pohunga Lodu, Rindi and Kahunga Eti in East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara.

Sugarcanes, which are cultivated in the previously barren land in the Wanga hills, Umalulu district, 40 kilometers to the west of Waingapu, provide a side job for local people who are generally farmers or working as Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) in Malaysia.

As said by Lodia Kamba, 45, one of the community figures of Wanga Village, the development of the water reservoir in the hills of Wanga by PT MSM makes land in the area arable again in 2018. The land has been abandoned since 2012 due to drought.

"Now there is no unemployment. Residents work in PT MSM\'s plantation. Crime like theft no longer exists. Security and order are maintained," she said.

Lodia\'s husband, Tony Pahamba Kamba, 48, works as a day laborer at PT MSM. Tony gets a wage of Rp 66,400 (US$4.77) per day to work in the plantation form 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Within a month, he can earn from Rp 1,726,400 to Rp 3 million. Tony used to work in Malaysia. He was deported in 2014 for having no immigration documents.

Another resident, Nurhayati Woleama, 21, works in the cleaning service section of PT MSM office. Graduating from state senior high school SMAN Malolo, East Sumba, in 2014, she was once invited by a middleman to work in Denpasar. However, she chose to stay in the village.

"I wanted to go to the university, but my parents could not afford it. From 2014 to 2016, I worked in cornfields, sometimes helping my mother at home. My friends continued their study in Kupang and Denpasar," he said.

At the beginning of 2016, there was information about vacancies in PT MSM. She applied and was accepted. She also received a wage of Rp 66,400 per day. Nurhayati lives in a corporate dormitory with dozens of other workers. They work as cooks, cleaning personnel, as well as messengers and office administration staff.

The company takes care of their daily needs during their stay in the dormitory. Her wages are transferred monthly to her account at BRI Waingapu. A part is saved, another part is sent to her parents. One day, Nurhayati wants to continue her education in university.

PT MSM director Bernardus Dwisektiono said his company was under the Hartono Plantation Indonesia (HPI) group. Sugarcane plantations and a number of dams are designed to be agro-tourism later. Besides opening the plantation, the company will involve the community through an independent partnership system. Farmers can grow sugarcanes for sale to the company.

Local workers

"We prioritize recruitment of local people. There are currently 1,750 workers. When the plantation is expanded up to 7,500 ha in 2019, we will recruit 3,800 local workers," he said.

The company provides pipes to deliver clean water for 1,500 Wanga village residents.

Dody Indharto of the information section of PT MSN said the area used to be barren. Now it is becoming green. The sugarcane plantation now spans 1,250 ha and will be expanded to 7,500 ha. Moreover, PT MSM will launch a reforestation program on about 7,808 ha in the hilly areas by planting kemiri (candlenut) seedlings to function as water catchment areas.

The company has built 22 reservoirs. Its function is to accommodate rainwater or water that is pumped from the ground. One reservoir holds 140,000 to 800,000 cubic meters of water to irrigate sugarcane plant area of 200 to 240 ha during one planting season.

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

A reservoir built by PT Muria Sumba Manis in Wanga Village, East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, holds water pumped from nearby unused estuaries and water taken from rocky land. One reservoir is used for one planting season cycle, or six months, after which water is pumped in again for the following cycle.

"We transferred the Israeli drip irrigation system here. MSM staff study there, and experts from Israel come to train here. Every sugarcane plant gets enough water for growth," he said.

Water that enters the reservoir is filtered first so that the water that flows into the plants contains no bacteria or chalk. The water is mixed with urea and KCl fertilizer.

Each sugarcane plant gets a water hose about 0.5 centimeters in diameter. Water from the hose continues to trickle into the plant throughout the growth cycle.

Land status

Dody said currently the company was processing the Cultivation Rights Title (HGU) for an area of 15,308 ha. PT MSM manages the land after obtaining the land delivery in writing from the residents, witnessed by community elements, regency government and security personnel.

"If anyone is not satisfied about the status of the land, we are ready for a dialog," said Dody.

According to Dody, PT MSM had invested Rp 700 billion out of a total of Rp 8 trillion to be invested in Sumba.

Contacted separately, a youth leader of Patahang village, Umalulu district, Umbu Ndeha, said Patahang had 400 ha of land. There is uang sirih pinang (cash) of Rp 1 million per ha from PT MSM. This money is divided into 50 percent for the villagers in the form of rice. Then, 20 percent is handed over in the form of cash to King Umalalu, and 30 percent in the form of cash to the kabihu, or tribal chiefs. The same is true in Wanga village and other villages whose land is controlled by PT MSM.

"About the HGU processing, we do not know. Recently staff of the National Land Agency [BPN] and East Nusa Tenggara Law and Human Rights Offices came to measure the land there. PT MSM invited us to attend. But when we arrived, the land measurement was done. We were only shown the boundaries of the land that they had measured. We just accepted it," Ndeha said.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Indigenous Sumba People Alliance, Umbu Manurara, said the transfer of grazing land to HGU has not gotten approval from the indigenous people. The land belongs to the tribes not individuals. So it must get the approval of all citizens.