Negara Kita Negara Agraris, tetapi Impor Garam dan Singkong???

Impian Pemerintah untuk menjadikan Indonesia sebagai Negara Swasembada Pangan seperti pada Masa Orde Baru adalah bukan hal baru. Tentu itu adalah hal yang menggembirakan, terutama bagi para petani. Memang sudah seharusnya Indonesia menjadi negara swasembada pangan, mengingat Indonesia adalah negara agraris. Impian mengulang kejayaan masa silam, ternyata bukan perkara yang mudah. Meskipun Indonesia pernah sukses dan mengalami masa keemasan itu di masa silam, ternyata untuk sekarang ini sudah semakin sulit diwujudkan. Berbagai macam program pertanian digalakkan untuk membantu petani demi meningkatkan produk pertanian. Pemerintah juga berusaha memberikan bantuan-bantuan modal dan subsidi pupuk.

Tetapi pada kenyataan sekarang ini, peningkatan beberapa produksi pertanian tidak juga kunjung ada. Malah sebaliknya, justru semakin merosot. Akibat dari penurunan produksi pertanian ini, banyak terjadi impor beras dan cabai keriting hanya untuk memenuhi persediaan konsumsi masyarakat. Bayangkan, padahal itu masih sebatas kebutuhan konsumsi. Yang lebih mengenaskan lagi adalah beberapa waktu lalu sebuah siaran reportase dari beberapa televisi swasta melaporkan bahwa polisi menemukan ada puluhan ribu ton garam impor dari India yang disimpan di sebuah gudang yang berada di daerah Madura. Padahal ketika diselidiki langsung, ternyata kualitas garam itu justru lebih rendah ketimbang garam hasil produk dalam negeri. Rupanya ini yang mengakibatkan menurunnya harga pasaran produk garam dalam negeri. Padahal di saat musim kemarau seperti saat ini, produk garam dalam negeri justru semakin melimpah ruah. Karena semakin banyaknya paparan sinar matahari justru membuat petani garam dapat meningkatkan produk garamnya. Pertanyaan terbesar, BAGAIMANA HAL INI BISA TERJADI?

Rupanya tidak hanya berhenti sampai disini saja. Pada saat di wilayah Kabupaten Kediri sebenarnya juga dapat menghasilkan singkong yang sangat melimpah ruah, akan tetapi lagi-lagi televisi swasta juga melaporkan bahwa di daerah lain ternyata terdapat singkong impor yang entah dari negara mana. Entah apa yang sudah terjadi di Negeri Agraris ini? Bisakah barng-barang itu masuk ke Indonesia begitu mudahnya tanpa adanya kong kalikong dari pihak-pihak tertentu? Sudah sebegitu mudahnyakah sistem pengamanan Indonesia dibobol negara lain, sehingga barang-barang yang tidak seharusnya diperlukan jadi melimpah ruah di pasaran. Bukankah hal ini bisa membunuh ekonomi pertanian dalam negeri sendiri? Sulit dimengerti. Bisa jadi hanya demi keuntungan pribadi yang lantas tidak terlintas sama sekali dampak besar yang membahaykan bagi negerinya sendiri. 

Peran pemerintah tentu saja sangat penting dalam hal ini. Bagaimana mereka bisa kecolongan membiarkan semua ini terjadi? Jika para pemangku pembuatan kebijakan sudah lepas tangan dalam hal ini, jangan harap cita-cita luhur yang sudah dibangun puluhan tahun akan terwujud, yaitu kemandirian bangsa dan kedaulatan petani di Negara Agraris.

Alfi Rohmah

A Brief on Corn Seed Farmer’s Case in East Java, Indonesia

Background of the case

a.        Broad corn seed market

East Java Province, Indonesia, is a major corn-growing area in Indonesia and has the biggest number of seed growers/companies and the second biggest distributors in the country. There are 3.8 million farmer’s households who depend on food crops including corn. In history, the culture of cultivating corn is embedded in East Java population and is suitable with the geographical condition.

b.        Hybrid corn seed companies

There were some multinational companies established in East Java in the beginning of 1980s. Recently, five multinational corn seed companies: Monsanto, BISI, Pioneer (Dupont Indonesia), Syngenta Thailand, and Asian Hybrid Seed Technologies of the Phillipines located in East Java are broadly operated. Their practices in seed market can be considered as oligopoly (a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers [oligopolists]). It is because they can sell higher selling prices than local companies/producers with good packages and labels, but their products are dominated seed market so they can get high profits.

c.         Companies and farmers cooperation in seed production

Companies did not have sufficient farmland so they made contracts with corn seed farmers. This kind of cooperation was begun in the beginning of 1980s when the Five Farming Efforts System was implemented by Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture following the Green Revolution’s concept. The system emphasized mainly on the use of high quality hybrid seed to increase plant production so as to intensify land use.

d.        Farmers skilled in cross breeding techniques

After some years of cooperation in seed production, hundreds of farmers skilled in corn breeding. They master cross breeding using multiple varieties of corn that they learn whether from their contact with the company in many ways (cultivating parent seeds, cross breeding, marketing, extension and training) or their acquired knowledge from generation to generation. Afterward, the successfulness of producing corn seed profitably at that moment has attracted many farmers to learn and develop corn seed production.

e.         Thousands of farmers are corn seed producers

After a while, more and more people went into corn trade. Thousands of people suspected to pursue this business including farmers who produce seeds on their own. This was triggered by rising corn demand in the market significantly. An organization of corn seed farmers and traders, Bina Tani Makmur, was founded in Kediri Regency, East Java in 2002 with at least 100 members from Kediri and its surrounding.

Seed farmer’s cases

a.        Farmers no longer cooperate with the company

The cases distinctively occurred in the context of cooperation between BISI Company from Kediri Regency and a number of farmers from surrounding areas. The contracts did not last longer in most cases. The reason is that the farmers were not satisfied with the cooperation from the losses they suffered. Consequently, in several cases the seeds produced by farmers within the cooperation were not purchased by the company due to low quality from the company’s view. This incident has made the seeds from the company spread over various places, including market and farmer’s society. Then farmers use the seeds to cross breeding so as to produce high quality seeds.

b.        Company’s monopoly

The contract letter itself was unclear for the farmers and founded some illegal statements that made the incident possible to happen. From the production cost analysis in 2006, the company got much higher profit than farmers. Moreover, the company sold the corn seed for 26,000 to 37,000 rupiahs per kilograms in the market, while farmers should sell their corn to the company in the context of cooperation only for 1,200 rupiahs per kilograms. These differences indicate that farmers were monopolized and oppressed by BISI Company and this still last up till now.

c.         Farmers developed techniques of cross breeding with various seeds

Without being able to control by the company and the government and supported by extensive seed market, farmer’s skill to perform cross breeding is broadly developed in the society. Driven by high demand and their desire to produce more profitable seed, farmers creatively learn how to breed various kinds of corn seed without being aware of legal status of the seeds and the existing law. Because many farmers do the same practices for years, they consider that there is nothing wrong on what they are doing.

d.        Farmers price competitive

In fact, from the production cost analysis it does not spend a lot of money to produce corn seeds. Farmers see this opportunity to sell the seeds at lower price than the company’s while keeping good quality by breeding in many more creative ways. This business has been able to support hundreds of smallholders and families at least for 20 years. Bina Tani Makmur as a leading organization on corn production has kept on improving breeding techniques and sharing market information among its members.

e.         Farmers went to court

From 2004 to 2010, some farmers sued by BISI Company. They were 13 corn-seed farmers from 5 regencies found guilty after undergoing legal processes in the court: 4 of them sent to jail, 2 farmers experienced twice, but only 3 farmers accompanied by lawyers due to lack of money and information. Besides, one farmer won in a legal proceeding. The accusations fixed farmers to the violation of Act 12 of 1992 on Plant Cultivation System for doing seed cultivation and certification without permission, Act 14 of 2001 on Consumer Protection for selling ​​seeds without labels, and Act 29 of 2000 on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) for producing hybrid corn seeds without permission.

f.          Irregularities in legal proceedings

Some lawyers and NGO’s activists have assisted some farmers to deal with the legal proceeding intensively. They found several irregularities during the litigation, such as one-day completed proceedings, bids money, non-viable evidence, no summons or arrest inspection, not receiving a decision letter, no laboratory test for evidence of plant varieties, and no PVP right for the company’s seeds. The two last facts show that there is no patent on seed by the company because the company could not prove that the seed varieties belong to them. It means that farmers can take the liberty to use any varieties of seeds in corn breeding.

g.        Challenges to support farmer’s cases

Actions to fight for farmer’s interests meet some challenges from different parties. First, seed subsidy program by the National Government is favorable for the company since it uses company’s seeds. Second, intimidations to farmers by individual police or hoodlum using the incomplete laws are continued especially for small farmers who do not fully understand the law. Third, the farmers still find it difficult to follow certification process as it is so complicated and very expensive; furthermore, the conflicting regulations have also made them confused. Fourth, the company still offers cooperation although that is usually detrimental for farmers but they have to accept it for running their farms. Finally, in the National Corn Council and the Corn Agribusiness Community who can influence strongly on regulations and policy related to corn production and market there is no representation from farmer organization in community level; instead, they are dominated by big business actors.

Dian Pratiwi Pribadi - Wageningen, March, 2012

No Monopoly On Seeds

“Whoever control the seeds will control the food, whoever control the food will control the people, whoever control the people will control the world”. This repetitious statement contains discrepant interpretations that create a debate in the entire international community. On account of some indications, certain multinational corporations dominate seed industry. It can be categorized as monopoly. Monopoly is an organization or group which has complete control of something, especially in an area of business, so that others have no share (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2003). As a result, farmers suffer a great loss. This problem is critical in that it is related to politics and hegemony. Nonetheless, many arguments toward monopoly come from numerous parties, not to mention the government of Indonesia. Actually, they refuse the term of monopoly. These are some arguments why farmers as main food producers must become the first priority in seed sector instead of big companies.

Some parties argue that seed production procedures which can only be fulfilled by rich companies are justifiable. Using Law No. 12/1992 on Plant Cultivation System and Law No. 29/2000 on Plant Variety Protection, the companies have won most of legal actions against farmers in the court. This is the strongest argument they ever maintain. It is claimed that illegal actions, termed piracy of seeds, have found in particular areas as a company’s staff witnessed in the court. However, it is not fair for farmers. They, as main seed producers, hold the basic rights to produce seeds as their prime livelihoods. According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every human being has the right to have an adequate standard of living including food, clothing, and shelter. This right belongs to social rights. In addition, the government of Indonesia has ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights through Law No. 11/2005. It is a strong legal basis for farmers to get their rights to produce seeds besides 1945 Basic Law. In fact, legal flaws have happened. Laws and regulations of seed affair are contradictory in both textual and contextual understanding. Their implementation leads to monopoly in seed business which denies seed farmers’ role. It has been proven from corn seed cases in Kediri and its surrounding. Small-scale farmers have been defeated in court whereas several reputable expertises in law stated that the judges have made improper decisions. One of them is Prof. Dr. Agus Sardjono, an expert in economic law from University of Indonesia. Basically, the moral of those legal products is to assure a long period of prosperity of seed farmers as Indonesian citizens.

Supporters of big companies also claim that the only party who is capable to commit an agreement with the government to run national program of seed subsidy is the big companies. They are appointed  due to their competency in seed business. To a certain extent they are right. However, it is unjustifiable when they can enjoy such privilege from the government. The program has brought many benefits to the companies while small-scale seed farmers have not enjoyed many. The program has altered from its initial objective which is to bring prosperity to farmers. If this policy keeps on being implemented, it will disturb seed farmers’ livelihood. Moreover, the fact shows that some seed farmers in Kediri and its surrounding have left their activity to produce seeds since the seed case happened in 2004. Thus, the situation between the two seed producers can be counted as monopoly, and it breaks Law No. 5/1999 on the Prohibition of Monopoly and Unfair Trade Competition.

It is the contention of multinational coorporations that they can afford high technology to produce large amounts and high quality of seeds. They bound to yield increased profits. They put forward this idea because they has amplitude of capital to make improvements in seed technology. They also claim that they have relations to accomplished professionals from all over the world who can be hired to innovate advanced technology. Contrary to those ideas, seeds produced from high technology result more negative impacts than seeds from natural and conventional processes. Hi-tech seeds, as hybrid and transgenic seeds, are scientifically proven to induce genetic diseases and ecological imbalance. NGO Coalition for Bio and Food Security collected incidents and scientific inventions proving that transgenic food and forage mostly resulted bad implications in the form of organ damage to death. Afterwards, the Coalition demanded some actions of bio and food security to the government. The second impact was shown by a case in Canada that transgenic seeds caused the destruction of plants in the surrounding fields by increasing pests and diseases and polluting the pollination process. Additionally, both hybrid and transgenic seeds highly require a huge amount of chemicals causing infertile soil and environmental degradation.

Opponents of farmers go on to assert that by having plenty of capital and facilities, big companies are capable to fulfill seeds demand in Indonesia, even to export them. They assume farmers are lack of money and skill. In contrast, this position sets the domination of company’s products on the seed market. This is definitely a monopoly act. Indeed, consumers do not have many alternatives to select various types of seeds because there are only a few kinds of seeds provided in the market. This can be a violation dealing with Law No. 8/1999 on Consumer Protection. Furthermore, the law in agricultural aspect obligates the government to facilitate seed farmers with those sorts of assets rather than to rich companies through seed subsidy project. Although there is no support from the government, hundreds of farmers in Kediri and its surrounding mastered seed production independently. They are good at conventional methods of seed production that are plant breeding and propagation. After seeing this reality, there is no way to agree with the arguments from the opponents.

Considering documentary and scientific evidence about the big corporations power on seeds business, they should not be trusted to a thriving agriculture. Farmers, chiefly small-scale ones, have to be the lead actor in seed production. The government must be aware of the practice of monopoly in their cooperation with big corporations. For the sake of farmer wealth, there must be a basic transformation in agricultural policy, especially concerning farmer’s knowledge in seeds. Indonesia’s nature is blessed with the richest biodiversity evolved from various kinds of indigenous germ plasma inside the seeds. It will be meaningless if the government still depend on one or two corporations in developing seed sector.

Dian Pratiwi Pribadi

DESA?

Apa yang terlintas dalam pikiran dan terbayang dalam angan kita tentang DESA? Orang Jawa yang menjadi penghuni terbesar negeri ini mengasosiasikannya dengan istilah ndeso yang mengarah ke sikap orang yang ketinggalan jaman atau tidak mengikuti modernitas, terutama dalam hal gaya hidup dan pola pikir. Orang yang lahir di daerah pedesaan namun sekarang tinggal dan mencari penghidupan di perkotaan menempatkan desa di ruang memori masa lalunya dan suka bernostalgia tentangnya. Orang asli kota mengingat desa dalam pandangan pegunungan tinggi menjulang, sawah ladang membentang, air sungai mengalir jernih, pepohonan rindang, dan sejenisnya layaknya aksi spontanitas tiap anak bahkan orang dewasa saat diminta menggambar apapun yang saat itu ada dalam pikirannya. Orang kota yang bekerja di desa dalam proyek-proyek pembangunan menyebut desa sebagai wilayah tertinggal yang selalu butuh dibangun baik sumberdaya alam maupun manusianya. Orang desa melihat wajah lingkungannya sendiri sebagai tempat yang kurang maju sehingga butuh bantuan pihak luar untuk lebih memajukannya. Gambaran DESA telah disubordinasi secara awam.

Kemudian, apa yang tidak terpikirkan tentang DESA? Orang desa banyak meninggalkan budaya aslinya, seperti gotong royong dan tepo seliro, lalu beranjak ke budaya modern yang dianggap lebih dihormati dan dihargai. Kalangan muda dan anak-anak sekolah tidak banyak yang berpikir menjadikan desa sebagai ruang kerjanya di masa mendatang meski disitu dan dari situlah mereka dibesarkan. Petani yang mendominasi tenaga kerja di desa tidak terlalu bangga dengan profesinya meski dari tangan dan keringat merekalah bangsa ini dihidupi. Pertanian yang menjadi sandaran hidup utama warga desa tidak lagi menjadi prioritas utama pembangunan pemerintah kita. Dengan ini, DESA telah terlupakan potensinya.

Untungnya, di negara ini masih ada yang tidak sepakat dengan pernyataan tentang DESA seperti yang tertulis diatas. Mereka itu orang-orang yang belajar dan bekerja tidak untuk dirinya atau keluarganya sendiri. Mereka adalah orang-orang yang mengerti makna hakiki kehidupan ini. Mereka tahu bahwa makin banyak mengerti, makin banyak ilmu, makin banyak harta, makin banyak relasi, berarti makin banyak yang harus dilakukan untuk orang lain. Mereka sangat mencintai alam dan seisinya, menghargainya selayak diri mereka sendiri. Mereka lakukan apa yang telah mereka pelajari, pahami, yakini dan ucapkan itu semua dengan sepenuh hati. Demi kehidupan di DESA, demi semuanya.


Dian Pratiwi Pribadi