The Achievement Of Sugar Self-Sufficiency Must Improve The Welfare Of Tebu Farmers

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Sinergi Sugar Nusantara (SGN) Mahmudi said that efforts to achieve national sugar self-sufficiency must also improve the welfare of sugarcane farmers. "Every effort in achieving national sugar self-sufficiency involves sugarcane farmers, it even has to have an effect on improving their welfare. Realizing it requires the support of all parties," Mahmudi said after focusing group discussions (FGD) at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, July 2. said more than 80 percent of the supply of sugar cane raw materials for the SGN sugar factory is farmers' sugar cane, so his party sees the need for a strategy to strengthen the position of sugarcane farmers, including increasing sugarcane productivity to strengthening the pattern of yield-sharing systems (SBH) which has been the spirit of the sugar factory partnership with farmers from the beginning. "Based sugar cane raw materials are mostly from farmers, for that we must strengthen their position, including increasing sugarcane productivity which will have an effect on farmers' income. The SBH partnership also benefits farmers, we also strengthen this so that it is not trapped in a transactional pattern by leaving the quality of BBT," he said. The target for SGN land development in 2024 is 2,536 hectares which will be obtained through Agroforestri, sugar cane land lease and cooperation with Perhutani. "In addition to intensification, we are also extensifying KSO land management with Supporting co, cooperation with Perhutani and sugar cane land lease. This is part of the "The roadmap for achieving national sugar self-sufficiency," said Mahmudi. The roadmap refers to government regulation number 40 of 2023 concerning the Acceleration of Sugar and Bioethenol Self-sufficiency, to achieve the target by 2030, there are five main points, namely an increase in sugarcane productivity by 93 tons per hectare through improvements in agricultural practices in the form of nursery, planting, maintenance of crops and loading and unloading of transport. Furthermore, the addition of new sugarcane plantation areas covering an area of 700,000 hectares sourced from plantation land, people's sugar cane and forest area land; increased efficiency, utilization, and sugar factory capacity to achieve a rendement of 11.2 percent; improving the welfare of sugarcane farmers; and increasing bioethenol production from sugar cane plants at least 1,200,000 kL. Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Gajah Mada University, Jaka Widada, said that achieving national sugar self-sufficiency requires the support of all stakeholders, one of which is academics.

Untuk itu pihaknya membuka Learning Cane Center di UGM, sebagai dukungan untuk meningkatkan kompetensi para praktisi industri.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Central Leadership Council (DPP) of the Indonesian People's Nutrition Farmers Association (APTRI) Fathudin Rosidi said that most importantly, the seeds have good variety, willingness to cultivate, finance, agricultural tools and machinery (Alsintan). "There will be funding from the state budget (State Expenditure Revenue Budget). But for fertilizers, which is a problem because there is no subsidy governing for farmers," he said. He admitted that so far there has been financing originating from People's Business Credit (KUR) but it is not optimal. Even so, there is currently an increase in interest from farmers because of rising sugar prices. "We are optimistic that there will be self-sufficiency in sugar, let alone the high interest from farmers because the price of sugar is rising," he said.