Talking About Food Security, Moeldoko Emphasized The Importance Of Farmers' Corporations

JAKARTA - Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko emphasized the importance of the role of Farmers' Corporation in national food policies. The reason is, according to Moeldoko, Farmers' Corporations will help empower the economy and improve the welfare of farmers.

"Pak Jokowi hopes that there will be a farmer corporation. That is, farmers are not just harvesting, then sold immediately. However, farmers are involved in the rice production process and participate in marketing agricultural business products," said Moeldoko when delivering his presentation at the National Food Seminar on "Food Policy Improvement Towards Golden Indonesia" in Jakarta, Thursday, March 16.

Farmers' corporation needs to be strengthened by being given capital. So at harvest time, corporations can provide benefits to farmers," he added.

Meanwhile, the idea of a farmer corporation was initiated by President Joko Widodo in 2017. The President's directive was followed up by the Ministry of Agriculture through Guidelines for the Development of Farmers' Corporation-Based Agricultural Areas as stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture Number 18 of 2018.

Farmers' corporation as an independent, competitive and sustainable agricultural business will provide guidance, escort, provision of seed assistance, fertilizers, post-harvest and processing tools, as well as marketing training to farmers who are members as well as corporate managers.

Moeldoko's call to maximize the corporate function of farmers is based on the recent Nagara Institute research report which states that currently there is a downward trend in the welfare of farmers and the interest of the younger generation for farming.

The Central Statistics Agency report in 2020 also states that most of the poor population is in the agricultural sector. Poor households working in the agricultural sector contributed the largest contribution, namely 46.30 percent. The average monthly income in the agricultural sector in 2022 was recorded at only IDR 1.9 million.

"Farmers are the challenge, land is getting narrower and more damaged. Our farmers are also not able to receive technology. Regarding financial management, yes, as soon as our farmers cannot calculate. Not to mention that after harvest, there must be a loss of 10 percent," said Moeldoko.

In addition, although the government allocates agricultural KUR of IDR 70 trillion in 2021, farmers still have difficulty accessing capital due to various factors, ranging from iliteration to bureaucratic matters.

There are 3 things that cause food prices to increase: rising energy prices, national policies and crop failures. These three things should not be underestimated because food issues are a global issue. However, after understanding these challenges, what are we going to do? That's what we have to think about," concluded Moeldoko who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Harmony Association (HKTI).