National Farm Day Agricultural Emergency in Indonesia; Get the Agrarian Reform on Track and Solve the Agrarian Conflicts

The issuance of the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) No. 5 of 1960 commemorated on the National Farm Day mandated the fundamental change on principal of colonial agrarian law. Through the inauguration of customary law, the restriction for monopoly of land tenure and other agrarian sources, eradication of feudalism practice, and guarantee of equal rights over land for men and women are the principles of UUPA in having social justice. Furthermore, MPR RI interpreted such mandate through TAP MPR RI No. IX of 2001 regarding Agrarian Reform and Natural Resources Management. After 57 years UUPA applied, gap between agrarian structure and agrarian conflict keeps occurring. Almost in all sectors, there is massive controlling over agrarian sources: 71% of them controlled by forestry corporates; 16% by plantation corporates; 7% by the rich and the rest by the poor people. As a result, 10% of the riches control 77% of national treasures. Land is becoming an object for investment; hence, the land ownership is less than 0.3 hectare. Per March 2017, there are 17.10 poor people live in the village (BPS, 2017). Agricultural policy also put the poverty in the village in a worse condition. Based on the Indonesian Farmer Alliance (API) record, in average there are 59 farmers getting out from agriculture sector per hour, which means there is 1 farmer gone per minute. If the land production ownership of the farmer is 0.3 hectare and planted with rice, it will only result, in average, Rp. 4,290,000, or Rp. 1,072,500 per month. On the other hand, the Highest Retail Price (HET) of rice is more market-oriented, without considering farmers’ needs. This encourages the massive migration from village to cities which leads to serious impact to regeneration and young people involvement in this sector. Considering the chronic situation in agrarian and the massive liberalization of agrarian sources proves that all these times the agrarian reform has been abused. The government starts to lose control and get far away from the mandate of UUPA 1960. On the occasion of National Farm Day 2017 and 57 years of UUPA, we are from National Committee of Agrarian Reform (KNPA) which is the alliance of dozens of organizations of farmers, fishermen, laborers, poor city, college students and NGO urge the government of Jokowi-JK:

  1. President and DPR review all the law and its implementation rules that are proven non align with Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution and UUPA No. 5 of 1960 to immediately be revoked, amended, and/or replaced in accordance to mandate of TAP MPR No.IX of 2001
  2. President immediately take firm steps to solve agrarian conflict and get the agrarian reform on track, also to immediately establish institutional implementers for Agrarian Reform directly under the president, cross-sector, and involving civil society organization as well as community organization.
  3. DPR and KPK shall evaluate and clarify the total area of forest based on domination, use and allocation, and shall audit and investigate corruption acts in SOEs and private companies.
  4. President shall be more pro-actively in leading, controlling and anticipating the manipulation by land mafia using the agrarian sources for commodities only.
  5. The up streaming of role of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in plantation sector running in trade, post-harvest processing industry and supporting technology development in agriculture and community’s plantation.
  6. New moratorium permit in plantation, forestry and mining sectors as well as review and control of old license proven violating the law, and to enforce the law against corporates committing human right violation and perpetrators of environmental destruction.

Happy National Farm Day for all the farmers throughout the country.