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Farmers and consumers benefit from sustainable agriculture While figures and
statistics are increasingly showing that sustainable agriculture is
viable in ensuring food security and rural livelihoods, it is important
to note that agriculture is also about human experiences. Sustainable
agriculture is a story about lives, about how farmers struggle to make
changes for a better future. Drawing on the Indonesian experience,
this article presents a set of such stories about farmers in Anton Muhajir
JENIA, a woman farmer
from Munting village on Flores island, In the 1970s, farmers
in this village, located in Manggarai Barat District, Flores, in the
In 2004, a local NGO Yakines facilitated the introduction of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which uses less water and inputs. Farmers began to reduce the use of agro-chemicals. They replaced chemical fertilisers with rice hay combined with effective microorganisms. To control pests they used gamal (Glicidia maculata) leaves. Because they used local inputs, the debts to middlemen were reduced and yields increased. 'SRI is a more effective method. The paddy has more shoots, less pests and the harvest is more,' said Paulus Gambur, another farmer in Munting. Before, farmers faced pests such as the brown hopper. After organic pesticides began to be used, most pests could be reduced. The harvest increased to 8-9 tons per ha compared to 4-5 tons per ha before applying the organic SRI method. The number of farmers applying the SRI method increased from only five in 2004 to 50 farmers now. The area increased from 25 m2 to 50 ha of rice fields now in Munting. A positive 'side effect' when farmers switch to organic systems is the awareness of the need to organise themselves. With the Green Revolution, farming was an individual activity, but when farmers switched to the organic system, they began to realise that working together is more beneficial in terms of burden-and profit-sharing. Thus the men formed a farmers' group. The women also established a Joint Credit group (UBSP) through which members manage their farm produce and post-production processing. A unique feature is that they have reestablished the food barn called lancing. Farmers store their harvest to get seeds for the next planting season and to ensure food during the fallow period in the lancing. They also store rice in different barns to ensure they can send rice to their children who are studying at Labuan Bajo, the capital city of the Manggarai Barat District. 'Now our group can plan better for the education of our children in the city,' Jenia said.
In Bali, Ketut Wiantara,
a vegetable farmer in With his friends in the Kelompok Tani Muda Mandiri (young farmers group), he learnt from the Internet organic farming methods using cow urine and followed the examples set by Indian farmers. He keeps four cows and uses the urine for fertiliser. The urine is passed through a cement-based container, and the liquid is turned using a small machine to remove the ammonia. Then the urine is left to stand for some time after which 1 litre of cow urine is mixed with 10 litres of water. The mixture is kept in a small dam that can contain 1,000 litres. It is from here that the urine mixture is channelled into Ketut's paprika garden. The cow urine serves as both fertiliser and pest control agent. Paprika is Ketut's
prime crop. He applies the drip irrigation method in a semi-hydroponic
way, using the cow urine to water his crops. While the paprika is in
the greenhouse, Ketut also plants carrots, lettuce, stawberry, and other
vegetables. He gets a gross income of Rp. 10 million (a little less
than US$1,000) a month from his garden. Ketut and other members of the
group benefit from organic farming because they sell the produce to
a niche consumer market. Thus the price is also higher and they are
no longer manipulated by middlemen. Faciliated by the Bali Organic Association,
they supply vegetables to the Aero Catering Service at the
Nuraini, a consumer
of organic food in Solo, Having benefited from organic rice, she decided to open a small shop that sells organic rice, and disseminate information on the benefits of eating organic food. Her shop not only sells products, but has become an information reference point for her neighbours, and a way to conduct consumer education on the benefits of organic products. Nuraini is supported by a local NGO called Lembaga Studi Kemasyarakatan dan Bina Bakat (LSKBB or Community Study and Skill Development Institute). Organic product marketing has been able to facilitate a change in the way agriculture products are sold. The conventional market is not in favour of small farmers due to the long distribution chain. The highest profit usually goes to the wholesale and retail traders rather than to farmers. LSKBB tries to bridge this gap by facilitating relationships between the consumers and the farmers. One way to do this is by arranging visits for the consumers to organic farms. LSKBB once arranged
such a trip to an organic rice farmers' group at Dlingo village, in
Boyolali, Cipto had shifted gradually from chemical-based farming to organic agriculture, using compost, liquid organic fertiliser and natural pest control agents. Farmers now harvest 6.8 to 7 tons of rice per ha per season from about 15 ha of fields that are allocated especially for organic rice of local varieties. Farmers also use a separate miller to mill their rice so as to avoid contamination with inorganic rice products.
While farmers and consumers are switching to organic products, albeit very slowly, the Indonesian government has not matched this development with proper policies and programmes. The government's Go Organic 2010 programme has become mere rhetoric, with little implementation. Instead, the Indonesian government is thinking of importing chemical fertilisers as part of its Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Revitalisation Programme. Additionally, the organic programme is focused more on products for export and those that fetch a high price, such as coffee and cashew nuts. The government is using a corporate approach by setting up standards and a certification board. Yet, the field visit in Boyolali shows that what is needed is trust-building between farmers and consumers. Small farmers cannot afford certification and local consumers only need to go and see for themselves that the product they buy is organic. This has escaped the attention of the government. In contrast to the
government which has no national policy, strategy or programme to boost
organic production, some communities are developing their own local
policy. The organic Kintamani ( Sustainable agriculture is not just about organic growing. It is a whole chain of production systems that work, but the policy deficit has unfortunately undermined a production method that has been proven to be ecologically and socially friendly, and capable of ensuring food security. Anton Muhajir is a
freelance journalist based in *Third World Resurgence No. 223, March 2009, pp 31-32 |
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