15 July 2020

As an agrarian country, the Indonesian government should pay more attention to agriculture and plantations to increase economic growth. Agriculture and plantations have proven to be the pillars of the economy several times when Indonesia's economic growth slowed or even declined because other businesses experienced a slump.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, economic growth has decreased. Many businesses have stopped such as tourism, hospitality, restaurants, industry, and so on, “said President Director of PT Mahkota Group Tbk, Usli Sarsi to Analisa recently.

As a result of many businesses stalling, the surge in unemployment is unstoppable. The Ministry of Manpower noted that 1.5 million workers were forced to be laid off. Meanwhile, Kadin said that due to Covid-19, as many as 6.4 million workers were laid off and laid off. Meanwhile, of this number, said Usli, agricultural and plantation workers have not been reported to have been laid off or laid off.

Currently, it is estimated that agriculture and plantations only absorb 30 percent of the workforce. This figure, said Usli, is still small when compared to the vast area of Indonesia that can be managed as agricultural and plantation land. The workforce in agriculture and plantations should reach more than 30 percent.

Swamp land, for example, can be managed as agricultural and plantation land. The Ministry of Agriculture's Agricultural Research and Development Agency (Balitbangtan) notes that the area of swamp land consisting of tidal swamps, lebak swamps and peatlands is 34.1 million hectares spread across Sumatra, Kalimantan, Papua and a little in Sulawesi. Of this amount, only about 1 million hectares are functioned as productive rice fields. Whereas there are still data issued by Balitbangun, there are around 9 million hectares of swamp land that can be managed as productive swamp land.

In addition to agricultural land, swamp land can also be managed as plantation land, such as rubber, palm oil and other plantations.

“Personally, I do not agree with peatland being managed as agricultural and plantation land. If tidal land is managed well, the yields obtained can also be more,” said Usli.

To realize Indonesia's economic strength in agriculture and plantations, the government, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the private sector must work together. The government is the regulator. Meanwhile, SOEs and the private sector must have the same vision and mission. If the three parties do not support each other, it will be difficult for agriculture and plantations in Indonesia to become an economic powerhouse.

In plantations, if the right cropping pattern is used, it will produce more. Currently, the average yield of oil palm is 1 ton/hectare/year. Whereas in Malaysia it has reached 2 tons/hectare/year. This shows that the planting pattern is not yet appropriate so that the yield is not maximized.

The government should reduce the use of chemical fertilizers to ensure the sustainability of land fertility. The conversion of agricultural land is partly due to reduced soil fertility resulting in low yields.

“We have conducted research with the use of compost fertilizer for palm oil can produce a harvest of more than 2 tons / hectare / year. It must be remembered that there are 10 links in the agricultural and plantation chain from upstream to downstream,” said Usli.