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Subsidized fertilizer won't fix Indonesia's agriculture: Experts
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Farmers work during the harvest season in paddy fields in Lhoknga, Aceh, on Jan. 20, 2024. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
T
he increased distribution of subsidized fertilizer has done little to improve agricultural production in the country, industry players and experts say, noting that other aspects must be enhanced for Indonesia to achieve agricultural self-sufficiency.
Many local farmers struggle to offer rice, the most important food crop in the country, at prices that make their produce competitive with imported goods, according to the Indonesian Farmers Alliance (API), as they often rely on imported seedlings.
Numerous local rice varieties are all but extinct, API founder Muhammad Nuruddin told The Jakarta Post.
Also, Indonesia is undergoing a “tremendous conversion” of agricultural land to nonagricultural land, especially in Java, Muhammad added, pointed out that achieving agricultural self-sufficiency remains one of the country's greatest challenges.
“The annual conversion […] of existing land to industrial land, property and other uses amounts to roughly 600,000 hectares,” he said, explaining that that led to a reduction in arable land for cultivators and a subsequent decline in the nation's rice output, while imports of rice were increasing.
On Jan. 2, 2023, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo increased the state budget allocation for fertilizer subsidies by Rp 14 trillion (US$884 million) expressing concern about the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon on agricultural yields in the region and on options for importing food.
The President also noted that the country's population was expected to grow by 4 million to 4.5 million annually and stated global events including the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted fertilizer supply chains, Tenggara Strategics, a think tank related to The Jakarta Post, reported on Jan. 12.
