Lurking Loss for Farmers before the Harvest

Farmers in a number of areas in Java are threatened with crop failure because their rice fields were flooded. This situation occurs when farmers have to bear the increase in production costs and selling price pressures.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO (TOK)

Farm workers harvest rice in a flooded paddy field in the Rorotan area, North Jakarta, Wednesday (4/1/2023).

INDRAMAYU, KOMPAS — A number of paddy fields in West Java and Central Java were flooded ahead of the harvest period, which was expected to take place in March-April 2023. For farmers, the threat of crop failure and losses due to the low selling price of unhusked rice lurks. Moreover, the purchase price of the government (HPP) of unhusked rice and rice, an instrument to protect farmers, is set below the cost of production.

Monitoring in the northern region of West Java, a number of paddy field areas were flooded. From the elevated Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Toll Road, paddy fields in the Pasir Tanjung area, Cikarang, Bekasi regency, West Java, on Monday (27/2/2023) at 9:49 a.m. were flooded.

Floods also occurred in paddy fields in a number of villages in Banyusari district, Karawang regency, West Java. The flood occurred due to the overflow of Cilamaya River on the border of Karawang and Subang. In Gempol Kolot village, Banyusari district, temporary data showed 7 hectares (ha) of paddy fields were flooded. Most of the rice in the village was 60 days old and had been ready for harvest.

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Sama (48), a farmer in Gempol Kolot village, said the water of Cilamaya River had begun to overflow at around 9:00 a.m. More than half of about 1 ha of his fields was submerged by floods. "The rice was ripe and ready for harvest for next month. Because it was flooded, the harvest will definitely fail," he said.

Sama added, the capital needed to plant rice is around Rp 8 million (US$525) per ha. If harvested and not flooded, he can earn around Rp 15 million. He hoped the government would provide assistance to farmers whose rice was flooded and were facing harvest failure.

Floods were also seen in paddy fields in Sukasari, Subang regency, yesterday at 4:14 p.m. About 33 kilometers from the monitoring point, paddy fields in the Bugel area, Indramayu, were also flooded.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO (TOK)

Rice fields in the Banyusari area, Karawang, West Java, were flooded as the Cilamaya River overflowed, Monday (27/2/2023).

Paddy fields in Central Java were also flooded. The Office of Agriculture and Plantation of Central Java recorded that paddy fields flooded in January 2023 covered 4,067 ha. In order to anticipate the impact of floods, the head of the Horticultural Food Crops Protection Center and Central Java Agriculture and Plantation Office, Francisca Herwati Prarastyani, said she had urged farmers to normalize waterways around the planting land.

Therefore, Francisca added, when the land was submerged, water could be directly rerouted to other locations and not inundate the plants too long. The use of water-resistant seeds is also recommended. Based on data from the Agriculture Ministry, paddy fields in Indonesia affected by floods covered an area of 25,535 ha. "For the paddy fields experiencing harvest failure due to flooding, we will help with the seeds. The local Agriculture Office will propose the seed recipients," said director of the Cereal Section of the Directorate General of Food Crops of the Agriculture Ministry, Ismail Wahab.

Cost increase

The threat of losses due to flooding burdens farmers who are being depressed due to the lower amount of the purchase price of the government (HPP) of unhusked rice/husked rice than production costs. Circular Letter of National Food Agency Number 47/TS.03.03/K/02/02/2023 on the Price of the Limits of Purchase of unhusked or husked rice states, the lower limit of the purchase price of unhusked/husked rice refers to the Trade Minister Regulation Number 24 of 2020 on the determination of the Purchase Price of the Government of unhusked rice or husked rice, namely Rp 4,200 per kg of dry unhusked rice (GKP) at the farm level.

On the other hand, according to the chairperson of Barokah Tani Farmers Group (Gapoktan), Karawang, Tani Suryadinata Wira Lodra, the unhusked rice production cost if harvested at the end of March 2023 is around Rp 8 million per ha. In the same period last year, the cost was around Rp 7 million per ha. Meanwhile, the productivity ranges from five to six tonnes per ha. One of the contributors to the increase in production costs is the operational cost of agricultural machinery, which rose from Rp 800,000 per ha to Rp 850,000 per ha.

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The price of fertilizer paid by farmers, Suryadinata added, also increased from Rp 2,250 per kg last year because it was a subsidized program. "The cost of fertilizer is currently around Rp 12,500 per kg because farmers take nonsubsidized fertilizer," he said when met in Gempol Kolot village on Monday.

The wages of the planting laborers also rose. At present, he said, the wage of the planting laborer is Rp 60,000 per half day, up from Rp 40,000-Rp 45,000 last year.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Rice harvesting activities using rice harvesters are starting to be widely used in Boto Village, Bancak District, Semarang Regency, Central Java, Monday (27/2/2023).

In addition to Karawang, the manager of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Seeds and Technology Bank Association (AB2TI), Masroni, said the rice harvest in Widasari region, Indramayu Regency, would take place in April 2023. At present the average rice age is still 45 days.

During the next harvest, the price of unhusked rice at the farm level is estimated to range from Rp 4,200 per kg to Rp 5,000 per kg. The price is not as high as a number of other regions in some parts of Central Java and West Java that have been harvested in advance.

"If the price of unhusked rice at the farm level during the harvest is below Rp 5,000 per kg, farmers will lose, because the cost of production is Rp 5,000 per kg, higher than last year, which was Rp 4,800 per kg," he said.

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According to Masroni, the increase in the cost of production was due, among other factors, to an increase in fertilizer prices, fuel oil and wages of planting and harvest laborers. The price of nonsubsidized fertilizer is Rp 600,000 per quintal; formerly it was still Rp 500,000 per quintal.

Farmers were forced to buy nonsubsidized fertilizer because they did not have farm cards. Farmers who got subsidized fertilizer also still had to buy nonsubsidized fertilizer because only two quintals were still lacking. At least four quintals of fertilizer are required per hectare.

The Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded, in January 2023, the price index paid by food crop farmers increased 0.63 percent compared to the previous month. The production cost index and the addition of capital goods rose 0.59 percent.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.