INDEF Economist: Want Food Sovereign? Ministry Of Agriculture Must Innovate In Technology!

Illustration. (Photo: Eduardo Prim / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) Senior Economist Bustanul Arifin asked Indonesian agriculture to immediately improve in order to optimize productivity which is experiencing growth degradation. The total agricultural production factor or TFP experienced a negative growth trend in the period 2011 to 2017.

The request is not without reason. Bustanul Arifin said that currently the growth of agricultural TFP has been in the negative zone since 2011, namely in the range of minus 0.36 percent to minus 0.05 percent.

Furthermore, Bustanul said that the growth was clearly lower than the TFP growth during 2001 to 2010. At that time, it was in the positive zone, namely 0.08 percent to 1.71 percent.

Bustanul said, domestic agricultural TFP from 1996 to 2017 still experienced negative growth in the range of minus 0.65 percent. This happens because of the minimal technology penetration in the domestic agricultural sector.

"There is a problem in boosting agricultural productivity because our technology is slow, even if there is not much and actualized economic growth," he said, in a virtual discussion, Monday, November 30.

Furthermore, Bustanul hopes that the Ministry of Agriculture through the Agricultural Research and Development Agency can make breakthroughs for technological developments, in order to realize food sovereignty.

"Our agricultural TFP is negative in problems, if there is no improvement it could be that the progress of our food sovereignty could be disrupted," he said.

In the future, he asked the government to make adjustments in terms of technology to support agriculture. Starting from climate-smart, modern biotechnology, precision agriculture, integration of upstream-downstream value chains, as well as a marketplace for price access and stabilization.

"Anticipation of changes in consumer behavior needs to be carried out, direct delivery is preferred," he said.

Not only that, Bustanul also said that the government needs to implement adequate protection for farmers during the COVID-19 period with effective policies. So that the mission of food sovereignty can be achieved.

"Then support for increased production, productivity and efficiency must be continued, price stabilization to maintain purchasing power and an important element of access to food," he said.

According to him, in the long term, human capital investment in agriculture and rural areas also needs to be made. So that it can reach the rapidly changing technology changes, as well as to avoid the middle class trap.

On the same occasion, Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo assessed the need for modern agricultural development, such as smart farming. Also the use of green houses to increase the production of horticultural commodities outside the planting season.

In addition, the Minister of Agriculture plans to establish an agricultural school based on a research and technology approach (ristek) next year.

"I will implement it next year, I will try to intervene with university cooperation," said Syahrul.