Buy One in the Village, Give One in the City

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Residents dry the grain when the weather and sunlight are bright in Ungaran Timur, Semarang Regency, Central Java, on Friday (20/3/2020). They are still working normally when most of the city is being restricted because of the prevention of the Covid-19 Virus.

It is about time for rice farmer H. Masroni (47) to start the harvest season, but instead of being happy, he is bit worried. Masroni, who is also the head of Kalensari village, Indramayu regency, West Java, complained about the drop in the prices of dried unhusked rice. A fall in prices often occurs but the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation.

"The middlemen buy our unhusked rice at Rp 3,000 per kilogram. The prices have been in free fall since last week," Masroni said in Indramayu on Friday (1/5/2020).

In fact, the government reference price (HPP) at the farm gate is set at Rp 4,200 per kilogram (kg) of unhusked rice. As usual, the poor quality due to too much rain is blamed as the cause of the fall in the prices. The unhusked rice is blackened due to poor storage. In addition to difficulties in drying the rice, farmers also do not have adequate warehouses.

Read also: Coronavirus and Economic Resilience

The pandemic has worsened the situation. The unhusked rice piles up because it is not absorbed by the market. Large-scale social restrictions, or partial lockdowns, in a number of regions in Indonesia forced many stores, restaurants, malls, and hotels to close. The market is still open, but operational time is limited.

The demand for rice has also fallen. Farmers are shrouded in anxiety. It\'s not just a matter of how to make ends meet; they are confused about paying debts of pesticides, fertilizers, and other production costs.

However, hopes emerged in mid-April. Masroni was invited to work together in the “buy one, give one program” initiated by the People\'s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP) and the Farmer Center of IPB University.

The program invites the people to donate to residents affected by COVID-19. For every purchase of 1 kg of rice, donors will pay 2 kg of rice valued at Rp 12,000 per kg. Thus, donors not only buy rice from farmers in the village, but also help vulnerable groups in urban areas.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Farmers harvest tomatoes in Gantang Village, Sawangan, Magelang, Central Java, on Friday (28/2/2020). The ongoing harvest of similar commodities in various areas of vegetable centers makes tomatoes easily obtainable at the local vegetable market, so the selling price is now only around Rp 2,000 per Kilogram at the farm level. During the rainy season. Tomato growers must increase efforts to maintain yields from the threat of fruit flies and leaf rot.

Donors can donate without buying rice for themselves. The unhusked rice produced by Masroni and other farmers in his village can be sold at the reference price of Rp 4,200 per kg. "This is called helping those left and right," he said with a smile on his face.

The unhusked rice purchased under the donation program is then milled by the Kalensari village-owned enterprises (BUMDes). The BUMDes can get a profit of Rp 100 per kg. The milled rice is set at Rp 9,700 per kg at the factory gate, above the reference price of Rp 8,300 per kg at the Bulog warehouse.

A total of 6 tons of the rice harvested by farmers in Kalensari was sold through the program.

A total of 6 tons of the rice harvested by farmers in Kalensari was sold through the program. The “buy one, give one program” is also intended to absorb 30 tons of unhusked rice from the farmers. At present, farmers need certainty that their harvest can be absorbed at good prices. According to him, the problem is not related to production, but distribution.

Read also: The Power of Farmers to Serve the City

Plant first

From Kalensari, farmers\' rice is transported to Bogor, West Java, and distributed to informal workers and those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. In addition to Bogor, the program targets the distribution of rice to Depok (West Java), Jakarta and Solo (Central Java). Priority is given to families who have not received assistance from the government. "If we just donate the rice, it makes people (beneficiaries) like beggars. So, we ask them to grow vegetables or crops, first. With this, they will have no food problems in the future, " Lily Noviani of KRK said.

KOMPAS/FAJAR RAMADHAN

National Coordinator of the People\'s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP) Said Abdullah.

Therefore, dozens of prospective beneficiaries were also given various vegetable seeds. Prospective beneficiaries who do not own land are asked to use vacant land with the owner\'s permission.

Kabul Kartono (38), a resident of Tirta Kencana, Depok city, did not know he would receive rice assistance. Together with four others, he was asked to plant long beans and chili on a 40-meter-square plot of land.

Kabul, a tailor, was enthusiastic. Besides never gardening, the father of two children had not received a sewing order for almost a month. He had lost an income of between Rp 70,000 and Rp 100,000 per day. “In two months we will harvest. Don\'t know the results yet, but they can be sold to neighbors," he said.

After five days of cultivating the land, he received 5 kg of rice assistance under the buy one, give one program. "This could meet our food needs for five days. We have not received assistance from the government, although we have been registered, "said Kabul, who is now happy hoeing while sunbathing in the morning. He works hard.

The KRKP national coordinator, Said Abdullah, said his party planned to distribute rice aid from farmers for at least three months with a target of 250 economically vulnerable households in urban areas. The reception of the community has thus far been quite good. A week after it was launched on April 17, the donations collected have in total reached more than Rp 26 million.

During this time, the food supply is controlled by investors. It turns out, with a pandemic like this, the urban residents are very vulnerable.

If the price of the unhusked rice is stable, Said hopes the program will continue. "We want to connect the urban community\'s food supply chain with the village directly. During this time, the food supply is controlled by investors. It turns out, with a pandemic like this, the urban residents are very vulnerable," he said.

Not surprisingly, musician Rara Sekar also donated and campaigned for the solidarity movement. "It is very important for us to think about our food condition, not just for the next one to three months, but also for years to come," wrote Isyana Sarasvati\'s sister on her Instagram account.

The “buy one and give one” concept may still be unfamiliar to many people. However, during a pandemic like today, isn\'t sharing better than just buying? A number of organizations and community groups initiated similar steps. They broke the distribution chain to help farmers as well as urban poor groups.

Bridge upstream and downstream

During this time, there is a contradiction related to food. The price of a number of commodities tends to rise in the market, but instead falls at the farm gate. The partial lockdowns in a number of cities and regencies have disrupted the distribution.

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Farmers harvest rice that collapsed due to being hit by a river overflowing in Darmakradenan Village, Ajibarang, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Sunday (5/4/2020). The Pecang River overflowed because of its flow buried by a cliff avalanche on Saturday afternoon. If not harvested, the rice will rot and farmers lose.

Efforts to connect upstream and downstream farming sectors are being taken to overcome obstacles. One of them is carried out by the National Commodity Market (Paskomnas). Paskomnas agribusiness development director Soekam Parwadi said his organization was collaborating with a number of farmer institutions and BUMDes in central areas. In total there are 58 farming institutions in Banten, West Java, Central Java and East Java.

Through this cooperation, Paskomnas receives supply directly from producers. Members of farmer cooperatives also receive guidance to maintain the quality and consistency of the production.