Critical Point of View: The Challenges of Agricultural Sector on Governance and Food Security in Indonesia

Department of Economics, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: setiartiti.lilies1267@gmail.com

Abstract

This critical review evaluates the agriculture sector’s challenges by assessing the agriculture sector related to government food security policies. The agriculture sector faces many problems, including during 2019 it only grew by 3.08% than the previous year, as the second GDP contributor, although it has the potential to reduce unemployment, it has not been supported by adequate human resources and even tends to degeneration due to the lowest income compared to others. Another serious problem is that every year, there is a reduction of between 150,000 to 200,000 hectares of land due to conversion of function for infrastructure development. As an agrarian country, Indonesian farmers’ welfare has also not changed much from year to year. Farmers Exchange Rate (NTP) in 2019 was 104.46, only growing 1.25% from the previous year. The low wages of agricultural laborers, limited land ownership, agricultural products’ selling price do not benefit the farmers, making their welfare still low. With this phenomenon, Indonesia urgently needs to reform its governance in the agricultural sector, and restore BULOG’s role. Strengthening the Bulog’s role will be able to maintain food price stability and motivate farmers' interest to continue planting rice and various other food commodities.