Rice Prices Are Expensive, What Can Villages Do?

Food security will be achieved if farmers are enthusiastic about continuing their work.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

A number of female farmers are planting rice in Karang Raja Village, Muara Enim District, Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatra, on Friday (1/3/2024). The rice fields utilize a solar power plant (PLTS) that produces electricity to power water pumps for irrigation purposes.

One type of capital available in rural areas and increasingly rare in urban areas is agricultural land. This makes the agricultural sector, including food crop agriculture, especially rice, mostly located in rural areas.

So, when rice prices soar, the question arises, how much of the price increase is enjoyed by rice farmers as the main producers of rice in Indonesia, who most live in rural areas.

The question arises, how much of the price increase will be enjoyed by rice farmers as the main producers of rice in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, the story on the ground tells a different tale. Instead of enjoying the benefits of increased product prices, rice farmers, as reported in the news, are actually lining up for cheap rice under the government's Supply and Food Price Stabilization (SPHP) program.

Kompas coverage found that rice farmers in Cirebon had no reserve of harvested rice from the previous planting season because this time the harvest was delayed due to drought, as a result of El Nino's impact.

SALOMO TOBING

Siwi Nugraheni

Prioritize family needs

I contacted some organic rice farmers that I know. Did they also experience the conditions described by Kompas in Cirebon?

Farmer friends replied, "Our rice stocks are still safe, there is no shortage so we do not need to look for cheap rice from the government's market operation program." They are still eating rice from the previous harvest.

Organic rice farmers always make it a habit to use their harvest to meet their family's needs first.

For a long time, our organic rice farmer friends have always made it a habit to use their harvest to meet their own family's needs first. If there is any leftover, only then it will be sold.

The habit of prioritizing the fulfillment of family's food needs in utilizing harvested crops is always emphasized by organic farming advisors.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA (BAH)

Residents raised the red and white flag after the 76th Independence Day Ceremony of the Republic of Indonesia in the midst of the refugia flower garden, in (insert name of village), Trawas District, Mojokerto Regency, East Java, on Tuesday (17/8/2021). The ceremony was attended by members of the Brenjonk Organic Agriculture Community.

Container and capital

Now, where does the expensive rice come from? It's not difficult to trace. Once the harvest is finished, most farmers sell their rice to collectors. Some of these collectors have giant capital with very large warehouse facilities.

Rice farmers certainly also store the rice they harvest from their fields for their family's food needs. Meanwhile, the money from selling some of the rice grains is also highly expected as capital for the next planting season.

We often hear that the results of rice farming in Indonesia are not enough for capital for the next planting season.

We often hear that the yield of rice farming in Indonesia is not enough for the next planting season's capital. With this situation, the pressure to sell the harvest results becomes even higher.

This situation rarely occurs for healthy or organic rice farmers. This is because most of the production facilities for this type of rice are self-produced, and there is no need to buy them.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Rojai, the head of the Ternak Jaya livestock group, feeds cattle in Tegalkarang Village, Palimanan District, Cirebon Regency, West Java, on Wednesday (28/2/2024). Rojai implements an integrated farming system with animal husbandry. Cow dung and urine are used to make organic fertilizer. Meanwhile, the remaining harvest of rice becomes feed for the cattle.

Main commodities

Rice is the main food commodity in Indonesia. With demand that is inelastic, rice commodities are certainly very attractive to major investors to enter into their business chain.

On the other hand, the pressure to obtain capital for the next planting season forces rice farmers to quickly sell their harvest. When the harvest season is delayed, the farmers no longer have any rice left, and they do not experience any increase in rice prices as producers.

The government usually overcomes rising rice prices on the domestic market with imports.

The government usually deals with the increasing price of rice in the domestic market through imports. However, if the timing is not right, the impact of rice imports can actually hit farmers. When they harvest, the domestic market is flooded with imported rice.

Amid efforts to achieve food security (rice), importing rice every time there is a harvest issue is not a sustainable solution. Improvement needs to be made at the most upstream point, which is the way of cultivating rice that gives sovereignty to farmers and increases paddy productivity.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Workers got off the truck after transferring rice imported from Vietnam using the cargo ship MP Fortune at the Nonpetikemas Terminal, Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, on Thursday (21/3/2024). According to the workers' statement, the ship carried 27 thousand tons of rice. This year, the government has set the quota for rice imports at 3.6 million tons.

More productive

There is a lot of evidence in the field that organic rice farming has higher productivity than conventional rice farming. If the average productivity of conventional paddy fields is 5.5 tons per hectare (ha), healthy rice fields in Tasikmalaya can produce 8 tons per ha. My friend in Wonogiri can produce 13 tons per ha.

These organic rice farmers have long stopped experiencing the hassle of searching for subsidized fertilizers because they can produce compost on their own. In terms of agricultural production facilities, organic rice farmers are their own masters. Furthermore, their production results, if sold in retail stores, would be included in the premium rice group.

If the average productivity of conventional fields is 5.5 tons per hectare (ha), healthy rice fields in Tasikmalaya can produce 8 tons per ha.

Unfortunately, the government has not yet shown any efforts in promoting organic rice farming as the mainstream in Indonesia. In the era of climate change, organic rice farming also offers mechanisms for climate change mitigation.

Because organic rice farming reduces the use of production facilities made with high energy intensity from factories. Meanwhile, our energy sources are still dominated by fossil fuels, one of the primary sources of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Farmers use a combine harvester aka combine harvester to harvest in the rice fields of Purwosari Village, Tanjung Lago District, South Sumatra, Monday (26/2/2024). The high price of rice on the market is a blessing for farmers.

Enthusiastic

Food security will be achieved if food producers remain enthusiastic in carrying out their work. It has been a long time since rice farmers in Indonesia enjoyed adequate yields.

One of the causes is the loss of farmers' sovereignty in the rice production process. The price of production facilities and the price of production results are determined by external parties. Organic rice farming offers the return of sovereignty to rice farmers.

It would be advisable for the government to start delving into and encouraging the wider application of organic rice farming. Whether one likes it or not, food security can only be achieved through the sovereignty of food crop farmers, most of whom reside in villages.