Agriculture in Indonesian and the rule of institution in farmers welfare

1. ESSAY
COMMUNICATION AGRIBISNIS
“AGRICULTURE IN INDONESIA AND THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN FARMERS
WELFARE”
Oleh :
Nama : Binti Sa’adah
NIM : 115040101111120
Kelas : H-Agribisnis
PROGRAM STUDI AGRIBISNIS
FAKULTAS PERTANIAN
UNIVERSITAS BRAWIJAYA
MALANG
2013

2. AGRICULTURE IN INDONESIA AND THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN FARMERS
WELFARE
By: Binti Sa’adah
115040101111120
Agriculture is one sector which is very important for Indonesia. This is because the majority of the
Indonesian population living and working in the agricultural sector, both as farmers (small farmers and
large farmers), as a laborer, as well as the processing of agricultural products. Indonesia is a country with
abundant of natural resources, this is due to Indonesia's geographical location between two continents
(Asia and Australia) and two oceans (Indian Ocean and the Pacific).
Agriculture in Indonesia has a very significant role, because agriculture in Indonesia not only acts as a
sustainer of life of the people, but also affected the stability of the national economy. Agriculture in
Indonesia isn’t only as a place to produce food, but also a place of employment, especially small rural
communities.
Agriculture is a complex system, in which there are many issues that affect the Indonesian economy
system. In addition because the majority of Indonesian people who depend on the sector, the agricultural
sector is also one of the main foreign exchange earner country. A wide range of existing problems in the
agricultural sector, Indonesia, among others:
Not to create a fair system in agricultural land use (ownership Vs businessman). In this case the
economic scale effort, still a lot of vacant land and the conversion of agricultural land ownership
is unclear. Though there are laws governing agrarian land ownership, where a person can only
have a certain amount of land to the place of his residence in the areas. But in reality many people
from outside the region to master an area of land or a land with thousands of hectares in other
areas. For example in the area of Batu City, there are thousands of acres of land with an area of
his property, but the status is owned by citizens of Surabaya or Jakarta, in fact rarely the vast land
to land because of sleep is not processed by the owner.
Capital resources Indonesian agriculture is still weak, where the exchange rate of Indonesian
agricultural products is low, the risk is high and profits low.
Conversion of productive land to industry due to the implementation of the policy is not optimal
mapping of agro commodities related to land.

3. Weak peasant mentality problem in the fight for their rights and weak of entrepreneurship.
Less skilled farmers, cultivating technical mastery limitations on certain commodities,
agribusiness lack of orientation, lack of control of post-harvest processing, and lack of ability to
access the market.
Farmers lack capital, the banking system is less concerned with farmers, agricultural insurance
and there is no system of debt bondage.
In marketing, the price received by farmers is not fair, volatile, dependent traders and middlemen,
to the detriment. Mastery of information and access to markets are weak, the marketing chain
length and unfair distribution margins
Awareness of farmers in a weak organization, some organizations that there is less work, and less
independent.
Various issues above should be taken seriously by the government. If it be overlooked, the national
economy will be shaken and communities become increasingly difficult to achieveth the apportionment.
Until now, agriculture is still subordinated to the government, so that like the above employed several
kinds of problems arise, such as changes in agricultural commodity prices.
Changes in the price of some types of major food commodities such as rice, corn, and soybean can
changes in the national economy. Concrete examples some time ago is skyrocketing national soybean
prices caused some tofu and fermented soybean cake had rallies, even some of them have gone out of
business because is unable to reach the soybean price is overvalued. Similarly with tofu and fermented
soybean cake are difficult to reach soybean prices, soybean farmers are not able to produce soy hindered
by erratic weather which caused some farmers to crop failure, not to mention the local farmers could not
compete with imported soybeans are cheaper and size greater than the local soybean, soybean farmers
Indonesian thus lost. Indonesia's soybean farmers here do not have the strength to compete with imported
products due to Indonesian farmers are not informed about the condition of the national market, where
Indonesian farmers sometimes actually harmed by the low price of soy production sales when sold to
middlemen or wholesalers. This is where the role of institutions both government agencies neither private
organizations is needed to help Indonesian farmers to manage and market their crops.
Institutional farming is the norm or customs structured and patterned and practicing on continuously to
fulfill the needs of community members that are closely related to the livelihood of agriculture in the
countryside. In the community life of farmers, farmers' position and institutional functions are part of

4. social institutions that facilitate social interaction or social interplay in a community. Farmer organization
also has a strategic point (entry point) in mobilizing rural agribusiness system. For that all available
resources should be directed at the rural / prioritized in order to improve the professionalism and the
bargaining position of farmers (farmer groups). Currently portraits of farmers and farmer institutions in
Indonesia are still not recognized as expected (Suradisastra, 2008). 1
The role of the institution is very significant, because the activities of these bodies should be able to make
people self-sufficient and not rely on the government or even outsiders. Institutions must be able to
perform a variety of activities that actually required by the public so that activities performed actually
implemented, usable and useful to society.
Inappropriate policy in managing the country's economy will lead to misery for the people. In the case of
soybeans above, when the government imposed a policy of importing soybeans from abroad to meet
domestic needs, the people of Indonesia who is a soybean farmer will lose money because they can not
compete with imported soybeans. However, if the government does not enforce the policy, it will be a lot
of tofu artisans and entrepreneurs who will be out of business. Therefore, a role institution as a container
that can help farmers to compete with imported products.
In performing its role, in addition to making various programs or activities for the community,
government agencies also must prepare for the type of communication media that is really effective, so
that people can receive the information submitted by the agency in the absence of rejection or aversion
that caused the failure of the process of delivering information. Thus, people can accept and carry out
activities that have been prepared voluntarily without any coercion from the local government.
The role of institutions, in this case for example the Institute for Community Empowerment (LPM), really
needed to address the various problems that exist in the agricultural sector in Indonesia. Call it the
problem of agricultural cultivation. Agricultural products in the country are generally not able to compete
with imported products because most of the agriculture in Indonesia is still doing that maximize the input
of agricultural extension in the form of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides that are harmful to health, both
human health and the environment.
The role of community development here, to be able to provide a solution that is acceptable to the
community. The use of artificial pesticides and inorganic fertilizers is not healthy, but that does not
necessarily mean the government banned its use. This is because many people who have an interest in the
1
Wedy Nasrul. 2012. PENGEMBANGAN KELEMBAGAAN PERTANIAN UNTUK PENINGKATAN KAPASITAS
PETANI TERHADAP PEMBANGUNAN PERTANIAN. http://www.umsb.ac.id/files/1/MENARA/wedy29.pdf.
Diakses tanggal 15 November 2013

5. business of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers, and farmers will lay balked when government agencies do
so. In contrast, the role of government agencies is to provide solutions, how to order farmers to produce
agricultural products are healthy by reducing the intensity of the use of pesticides and inorganic
fertilizers.
The solution offered is to organic farming. Government agencies, such as the LPM can offer assistance in
the manufacture of organic fertilizers and pesticides, which are necessary ingredients derived from nature
about the farmers themselves, thereby reducing production costs. Work together with the community and
government to the agricultural activities, without any patronizing element of one of the parties. Because
in society empowerment, neither party knows better but all equally learned, farmers learned to grow good
and true, in this case healthy and able to compete with the market. While the government learn to apply
the methods of empowerment needed for able to be accepted and successful social welfare. With the
overall welfare of the people of a country, then it will slowly stabilize the country's economy and wellbeing of a state is reached.

6. REFFERENCE
Apriyantono,
Anton.
PEMBANGUNAN
PERTANIAN
DI
INDONESIA.
.
http://www.deptan.go.id/renbangtan/konsep_pembangunan_pertanian.pdf. Diakses pada tanggal
15 November 2013
Marli Batubara, Mustopa. 2007. PERAN LEMBAGA PERMODALAN DALAM PEMBIAYAAN SEKTOR
AGRIBISNIS
DITINGKAT
PERTANIAN
RAKYAT
DI
SUMATERA
http://www.perpustakaan.depkeu.go.id/FOLDERJURNAL/kredit%20agribisnis.pdf.
SELATAN.
Diakses
tanggal 15 November 2013
Nasrul, Wedy. 2012. PENGEMBANGAN KELEMBAGAAN PERTANIAN UNTUK PENINGKATAN
KAPASITAS PETANI TERHADAP PEMBANGUNAN PERTANIAN.
http://www.umsb.ac.id/files/1/MENARA/wedy29.pdf. Diakses tanggal 15 November 2013.