Food Independence in Urban Agricultural Practices

by Britto Wirajati

Food shortage and depeasantization (change of profession to farmers) is an irony for an agricultural country like Indonesia. These two conditions indicate inappropriate land use and a decline in public interest in the farming profession, in addition to factors reducing land productivity. The impact is clearly leading to a food crisis that will haunt Indonesia in the future.

The opening argument above does not appear without data support. Based on land mutation data released by BPS (Central Statistics Agency) in 2013, there were 829,196 m2 of land mutations in all Indonesian provinces. Of the total transferred land, 16.51% of rice fields and 27.1% of non-rice fields were no longer used for agricultural purposes.

Meanwhile, for non-agricultural land transfers, the percentage of land transferred for agricultural purposes was only 11.94%. Five years later, as quoted from the cnnindonesia.com website (25/10/2018), BPS found that in 2018 there was a decrease in the area of ​​raw rice fields by 8.39% from a total of 7.75 million hectares of land in 2017.

Data from the same survey also shows that Indonesia experienced a decline in the number of agricultural households, from a total of 31.2 million agricultural households, decreasing 16.25% to 26.13 million. This depeasantization phenomenon is most likely driven by three things.

First, based on the 2014 BPS survey, farmers are among the professions with the lowest income in Indonesia, with an average of IDR. 1,030,000.00 every month. Second, the large number of farmers changing professions to other fields of work, such as extractive plantations and mining. Third, citing reports from the online media website Republika.co.id (04/12/2018), there has been a decline in land productivity of 5 million hectares due to low organic levels due to the use of pesticides.

This collection of data shows the high risk of a food crisis in Indonesia. In an article released by cnnindonesia.com (15/072020), Head of Research at CIPS (Center for Indonesia Policy Studies) Felippa Ann Amanta said that Indonesia is threatened with a food crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because food and agricultural trade between countries has stalled and Indonesia’s hunger level is still quite high.

This projection of the food crisis in Indonesia was also confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture, Sahrul Yasin Limpo. The official website of the Food Security Agency (BKP) stated that food crisis protection will be anticipated with structured steps from the Ministry of Agriculture, starting from clearing and processing land, increasing production capacity, strengthening logistics systems and developing modern agriculture (26/06/2020 ).

However, there are two big questions that arise regarding the response of the government and experts to this projected food crisis. First, how to increase production capacity and agricultural land, if the data shows a decline in the number of agricultural land, symptoms of depeasantization? Second, who can guarantee that global trade will soon return to normal and food availability will be fulfilled again?

Urban Agriculture as an Alternative

Looking at the data and opinions of stakeholders, the danger of a food crisis seems to be increasingly threatening Indonesia. However, nowadays there are many studies emerging about urban agriculture which have the potential to be a solution to this problem. In the current condition of shortage of agricultural land, small-intensive urban farming systems can be relied on to meet household needs.

Academic research on the practice and influence of urban farming has been carried out in many cities such as Jakarta (A.R. Fauzi et al.: 2016), Makassar (Subair & Haris: 2017), South Tangerang (Maharisi et al.: 2014 and Surabaya (Anggrayni et al. : 2015) shows that urban agricultural practices contribute positively to efforts to provide independent food, although noting that government support must be increased so that urban communities become more active in these practices.

This collection of information about urban farming encouraged me to try it in my hometown, Yogyakarta. I have been practicing farming using my yard since mid-2018, before COVID-19 broke out. The methods and concepts are still very simple due to research that I have not seriously carried out. Please understand, my motivation at that time was only to fill my free time by utilizing the empty area in my yard.

The first plant I tried to cultivate was chili, a type of fat chili (capsicum). The planting method only uses dried chili seeds and then I sow them first in polybags before spreading them in several locations in the yard. I am lucky to have yard land with a fairly high level of fertility so that chili plants grow easily without requiring complex care. As a result, eating at home is no longer bland because chili sauce is always available on the dining table.

Seeing my chili plants growing and being able to be harvested, I became addicted to farming in my yard. Armed with Moringa tree shoots from a relative, I tried adding types of plants to my yard. Since the Moringa tree is not a plant that is difficult to grow, within a few months the tree begins to grow taller and produce lots of leaves. I then processed the results of the growth into Bobor Kelor dishes to be consumed with the family.

The experience of successfully cultivating and tasting the results of chili and moringa plants in my yard then made me addicted. The COVID-19 pandemic that hit Indonesia in early 2020 actually encouraged me to plant various other plants such as betel and lemongrass as well as papaya, avocado and pineapple.

The experience of using my yard for farming made me realize several things. First, even with simple methods and motivation, urban agriculture has been proven to have a high impact on food independence. The impact will definitely be much wider if the practice is carried out en masse and seriously, starting from the RT/RW environment to residential complexes.

Second, food independence starting with urban agricultural practices that require minimal land can have a positive influence on the food security of urban communities. The lack of land can be anticipated with hydropine techniques and similar techniques that use used goods as a planting medium. This practice is clearly pro-active in efforts to anticipate the national food crisis as well as the waste problem in residential areas.

Third, efforts to fulfill food needs through urban agriculture are not impossible if the government is willing to step in and stimulate its practice simultaneously. Such conditions can be an indicator that the government and community members are actively participating in developing sustainable practices in the field of food security.

In closing, I have proven that it is a good idea to start instilling food independence starting from your own yard. Every citizen basically has the responsibility to build and develop their own environment. Therefore, let’s contribute to national food security through farming practices in our own yards. Good luck!