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Nearly 200 years ago, in his great work
The History of Java, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, FRS wrote “The island of Java is a great
agricultural country; its soil is the grand source of its wealth. In its
cultivation the inhabitants exert their chief industry, and upon its
produce they rely, not only for their subsistence, but the few articles of
foreign luxury or convenience that they purchase. The Javans are a nation
of husbandmen, and exhibit that simple structure of society incident to
such a stage of its progress. ... The soil of Java, though in many parts
much neglected, is remarkable for the abundance of its production. With
very little care or exertion on the part of the cultivator, it yields all
that the wants of the island demand, and is capable of supplying resources
far above any thing that the indolence or ignorance of the people, either
oppressed under the despotism of their own sovereign, or harassed by the
rapacity of strangers, have yet permitted them to enjoy”. Java is still
the rice bowl of Indonesia.
Java (population 107 million) constitutes 45 percent of the country’s total
people (237 million). More than a third (36.5 percent) of the working age,
or 41.2 million people in Java, are dependent on agriculture.
Java’s rice production in 2012 exceeded 10 million tons. On paper, Java
accounts for more than half of the the country’s rice production. The
superiority of Javanese rice cultivation is not a new story.
When Raffles was writing, Sumatra, Malacca, Borneo and the Maluku were
dependent on rice from Java. Rice was also exported to Ceylon, Coromandel
(India) and the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa).
Despite recognition that agriculture is Java’s most precious treasure,
ironically, it is now in serious danger. The danger is the Master Plan for
the Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economy (MP3EI), which
threatens to the very existence of agriculture in Java. MP3EI is was
launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration in 2011 to
“transform the Indonesian economy into a developed nation recognized by the
world community, through high, inclusive and sustainable economic growth”.
The government optimistically stated that with MP3EI the country would take
its place as one of the world’s developed country by 2025 with an expected
per capita income of US$14,250-$15,500 and total gross domestic product of
$4.0-4.5 trillion. As Strategic Asia put it, MP3EI is a very ambitious
plan.
MP3EI focuses on eight main developmental thrusts, namely agriculture,
mining, energy, industry, maritime, tourism, telecommunications and
strategic zones.
These eight primary programs consist of 22 main economic activities which
are claimed to be based on the inherent potential and strategic value of
each of the corridors.
The six economic corridors include (1) Sumatra as the center of production
and processing of natural resources and as the nation’s energy reserve, (2)
Java as the driver of national industry and service provision, (3)
Kalimantan as the center of production and processing of national mining
and energy reserves, (4) Sulawesi — as the center of production and
processing of national agricultural, plantation, fishery, oil and gas, and
mining, (5) Bali — Nusa Tenggara as the gateway for tourism and national
food support, (6) Papua — Maluku as the center of development of food,
fisheries, energy and national mining. Within this framework the main
activities of the Java economic corridor are (1) food and beverages, (2)
textile, (3) transportation equipment, (4) shipping, (5) ICT, (6) defense
equipment and (7) Jabodetabek (Greater Jakarta) Area.
MP3EI promised that Indonesia would become one of the world’s main food
suppliers, as a processing center for agricultural, fisheries and natural
resources, as well as a center for global logistics, by 2025 or earlier.
However, to reach the so-called “one of the world’s main food suppliers”
MP3EI leaves Java at the fringe.
MP3EI endangers Java’s agriculture in two ways. First, MP3EI will shift the
agricultural center from Java to other islands, especially two designated
economic corridors, namely Sulawesi and Papua-Maluku, as well as Bali-Nusa
Tenggara for animal husbandry.
Second, and more threatening, MP3EI — in fact — triggers the breakup of the
natural linkage between local agriculture and the food processing industry
in Java. Recent data indicated that two categories of packaged food
predicted to experience the highest growth are snack bars and meal
replacement. Neither contain a much local material.
Ironically, instead of promoting the links between local agricultural
production and the processing industry, MPE3I considers high import tariffs
for raw materials and packaging materials as a regulatory challenge.
To deal with these challenges, regulation and policy measures are embedded
in MP3EI: (1) “reform policies and regulations in order to make foreign
investment more attractive, e.g. import duty tariff for raw materials such
as for rice flour, potato, milk and chocolate should be made lower than the
tariff for their end products ...”, and (2) “review policies to lower the
cost of packaging materials in order to increase the competitiveness of the
food and beverage packaging products ....”.
With such incoherent conditions, it is clear that the development strategy
of the food and beverage industry alienates local content.
The fact that Java is still Indonesia’s agricultural powerhouse should be
considered meticulously before a firm decision on its future is made.
Unless the government is willing to revisit the “spirit” of MP3EI, Java’s
agriculture tragedy will be unavoidable. ●
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