Organic Agriculture And Agricultural Revitalization

By: Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Ir. Anton Apriantono
(Speech At Workshop and Congress II Maporina with a fairly challenging themes, namely: Indonesia delivers Become Leading Organic Producers)

This meeting I think is very important and strategic in order to meet the challenges of globalization and trends in consumer demand and a growing world market today that started very concerned about the products free of chemical residue, environmental friendly and healthy as organic agricultural products. Of course this is also important in order to develop organic agriculture in Indonesia in the future so that Indonesia could become a leading organic producer in the world. This is understandable given the potential of Indonesia is very rich in germplasm and most of their agricultural land, particularly those outside Java, still "virgin" that automatically produces a given product has an organic food. Topics covered in this workshop also is in line with the Vision Development Agriculture Year 2005 -2009, namely the establishment of strong agriculture for food security stabilization, increasing added value and competitiveness of agricultural products and enhancing the welfare of individual and institutional petani.Secara, I strongly support the continued development of organic agriculture in Indonesia and the various efforts that have been and will be programmed by the Society of Organic Agriculture, which although in his life relatively young has been able to try real acting in an effort to popularize and raise the image of organic agriculture products of Indonesia in order to support the establishment of a strong food security . Workshop and Congress is also a real effort to collect a variety of resources and power to revitalize agriculture as the main pillar of national economic development in the form of a real and not merely a concept nyata.Pada several occasions, I've explained that agricultural development faced a number of obstacles and problems to be immediately resolved, among other things:

1. the limited and decreasing capacity of agricultural resources, 
2. weak technology transfer system and the lack of precise targets, 
3. limited access to business services, especially capital, 
4. long chain of business administration and marketing system is not fair, 
5. low quality, mentality, and peasant resource skills, 
6. weak institutional and bargaining position of farmers, 
7. weak coordination among relevant institutions and bureaucracy, and 
8. have not berpihaknya macro-economic policies to farmers. 

However, despite the constraints and problems mentioned above, the agricultural sector remains a focus for the hopes not only in maintaining food security, but also in the provision of employment, sources of income, foreign exchange and contributor to national economic growth. Foreign exchange from agriculture and other agriculture-based businesses are expected to increase from approximately U.S. $ 7.8 billion today to 12 billion U.S. $ in 2009. To answer these challenges, the United Indonesia Cabinet has determined that the Revitalization of Agriculture is one of the priorities of national economic development. Related to the above, the efforts initiated by Maporina become very important in order to accelerate the achievement of targets in atas.Sejalan with spirit and vision of agricultural development as stated above, among the several missions the Department of Agriculture is to promote the establishment of a strong agricultural, competitive , environmentally sustainable, and encourage increased agricultural sector contribution to national economy, through increased GDP, exports, job creation, poverty reduction, and improvement of public welfare, as well as the interests and protection of Indonesian farmers and agriculture in the international trading system. Mission to be achieved is actually very appropriate to the mission of organic agriculture as outlined by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Codex asserts that organic farming is a holistic production management system that support and enhance the health of ecosystems, including biological cycles and soil biological activity. While IFOAM explained that organic farming is a whole system approach based on a set of processes that produce sustainable ecosystems (sustainable), safe food, good nutrition, animal welfare and social justice. Thus, organic farming is more than just a production system that include or exclude certain input, but also a philosophy with tujuan.mengoptimalkan health and productivity of inter-dependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people.
The focus of the activities of the Department of Agriculture is how to increase farmers' income so that should be encouraged development of high value komodiats (horticulture, agriculture, livestock) and increased value added through processing. To achieve this certainly can not be left entirely to the Ministry of Agriculture alone or to the government alone. The involvement and cooperation of all stakeholders involved in agricultural development, namely the public, private sector, NGOs, academics, legislators, media, professional organizations such as MAPORINA, and sectors related to agricultural development is critical and needs to be raised. Therefore the development of organic food is one concrete step to achieve our vision and mission which in the end we hope to make our farmers more affluent, prosperous and also to make farming as a business sector of interest, particularly for our young people today tend to be progressively decreasing interest to plunge in the field of agriculture pertanian.Agar able to become the backbone of the nation's economy as intended in the Revitalization of Agriculture, the agricultural products we should be able to compete and give a positive value that can be felt by consumers. Our agricultural products may not be able to compete if our agricultural systems are not able to produce agricultural products quality and safety in accordance with the demands of today's consumers. In this era of free market our products increasingly demanded to be able to compete not only in international markets but also in the domestic market. This is related to the increasing flood of agricultural products from other countries into our country, while the more difficult our products into other countries related to the more strict requirements established by the country of export. This is a reasonable implication of ratification of the WTO agreement on SPS and TBT. The challenge for agricultural products to compete in the global era of increasingly severe due to various constraints that have been mentioned above. Because it is necessary breakthroughs to be able to overcome these two WTO agreements as well as make it into an opportunity for rapid advancement of our agricultural sector. Organic agriculture is one of the alternatives that we hope will continue and continue to increase its contribution to our GDP. We know in other countries, particularly in European countries, Latin America, and the Americas Union organic farming is a sector of the fastest growing food. Organic food sales growth rate ranged from 20-25% annually over the past decade ini.Sama both realized that in order to achieve prosperity and welfare of farmers and improve the competitiveness of our agricultural products there are several things that must be explored and pursued, such as: 1) Support facilities capital and adequate transportation; 2) Technical assistance and marketing, 3) Improvement of Agriculture and Human Resource Development continued to farmers and 4) The system of quality control and food safety of agricultural products so as to inhibit the entry of foreign products that are not qualified and at the same time promoting export our agricultural products. In the agriculture department work plan in 2005, improving quality and food safety is one of the main activities of the program increased endurance pangan.Pemerintah pmenyadari that organic farming is an option in agricultural production that enable small businesses Indonesia maintain household food security and adequate income while regenerate land, regain biodiversity, and provide quality food for the community workshops .. Clappers-benefit analysis of organic food has been shown by a variety of organic farming systems and terntegrasi who are economically feasible., Friendly environment, and improve the culture of the community. This scenario seems almost unrealistic for people who do not have sufficient understanding of the purpose of environmental objectives, economic and social development of organic agriculture. . These objectives are very relevant with masayarakt rural Indonesia, where poverty is the main cause of chronic food insecurity and environmental stress is not reduced as soil degradation, soil shrinkage, loss of biodiversity, and pollution of land / water.

In line with increasing consumer awareness of food safety, environmental protection issues, the issue of empowerment of farmers, government and other stakeholders including MAPORINA have made various efforts to promote and develop organic farming. Farmers and food producers in the future and should be encouraged to gradually sedikiti menerapakn this farming system. This is important given the premises controlled lebihd ari 20% of tropical agricultural land with plasma nutfahnya yangs discussion is diverse. Looking ahead, the government policy may need to be revised for more attention to organic farming could be improved. Especially with the crisis over gas supplies to some of the fertilizer industry, there needs to be an alternative for farmers is not lack of production inputs is vital. With the application of organic farming course we'll dependency of chemical fertilizer can be reduced. In connection with the many benefits and the impact is felt from the introduction yangd apat organic farming systems, the Department of Agriculture since 2000 has given serious attention to the development of organic agriculture in Indonesia. Even at that time proclaimed to reach Go Organic 2010. Furthermore, to achieve the 2010 Go Organic various programs and activities have been implemented. Among them is the Competent Authority with the formation of Organic Agriculture by the Minister of Agriculture Number: 432/Kpts/OT.130/9/2003 and the Formation of Organic Task Force. Various training of facilitators and organic inspectors, seminars and workshops to promote organic farming to the community and stakeholders have been conducted in cooperation with various institutions which had engaged in organic farming at that time. In fact we have successfully filed SNI alhamdulillah Organic Agriculture has dikonsensuskan and endorsed by the BSN that is SNI 01-6729-2002. Indeed, recognized by the restructuring at the Ministry of Agriculture, there seems to be confusion and concern about how the direction of government policy (Ministry of Agriculture) regarding the development and cultivation of organic farming in the future. Hopefully, in accordance with the spirit of revitalization of agriculture, in accordance with the mission and vision of the department of agriculture, organic agriculture will continue our support and hopefully in the future could be considered a special policy for organic agriculture is such a subsidy for bio-organic fertilizer and pesticides so that the availability of inputs organic farming can meet the requirements fulfilled. Government support for organic agriculture is also in line with other efforts that have been and are being run by Depatan namely the quality improvement program and the safety of Indonesian agricultural products that have high competitiveness or SiSakti known as Indonesia's Agriculture Certification System pencanangannya I have carried in the form of the Movement Campaign Conscious of Food Quality on November 30, 2004. Of course with the MAPORINA with its staff structure is very strong, organic agriculture program in Indonesia becomes more powerful and faster time to catch up from other countries which had already advanced in this farming system. Go Organic for 2010 could actually be realized and Indonesia could become a leading organic producer, yag things we have to prepare and establish a workshop and I hope the congress can be formulated. I also might be suggested that PP 28/2004 be revised for Organic Farming Systems can go in and regulated in the PP tersebutMelalui this workshop, I also suggested that Maporina not get stuck on a narrow definition of organic agriculture such as dwell only on organic fertilizers, organic fruits and vegetables . But it is also necessary to study the possibility of developing organic agriculture to other types of farming such as organic gardening products (coconut, vanilla, virgin oil, palm oil), organic livestock, poultry and quail organic, organic milk, organic honey, organic silk, organic sprouts including processed products that can meet the needs of organic consumers would increase market confidence organik.Untuk products, certification programs and supporting them need to be increased so that the organic certification program is recognized worldwide Indonesia and our farmers do not have to pay the expensive cost of certification. Training Internal Control System (ICS) should be expanded so that more farmers' groups who are touched by this program. Ministry of agriculture through the existing technical director generals are ready to help facilitate ICS training to our farmers. Hopefully with the existence revitalisai agricultural extension, the extension agents will also be provided with materials and skills on organic farming system so that if farmers want to switch to organic farming business they do not have trouble. The role of NGOs that is much help to farmers would be continued and enhanced. We're from the government to give awards for its participation to build and supply our farmers. We realize that the success of the agricultural program to be in vain if there is no increase in farmers' welfare.