FARMERS RECOGNITION OF KENDAL
We enthusiastically welcome Ministerial Regulation No. 39 of 2017 which regulates social forest divisions of Perhutani. This honest expression was conveyed by a head of a farmer group from Patean District, Kendal Regency, when he met with Minister Siti Nurbaya early last week.
So far, we cultivate the land to plant onions in the oyak-oyak with the foreman. We were scared. Even though we are not thieves. We just want to hoe and not steal the wood. The forest there is gone and no thieves have been caught.
In our village there are about 1000 hectares of land within the territory controlled by Perhutani. Each hectare can be planted with 10 kg of onion seeds. Every kilo of seeds we pay Rp. 50 thousand. Simple math 1000 × 10 kg × 50 thousand rupiah, how much does the foreman receive. Whereas in our area there are only two foremen. They can be rich.
The farmer’s sincere expression made me even more furious to see the practices of Perhutani elements. No wonder if Perhutani controls 2 million hectares of land in Java in “unhealthy” conditions. And it is no wonder if the President at the peak of the commemoration of environmental day on August 2 also highlighted the problem at Perhutani. In fact, the president strongly stated that there is a need to take corrective actions against forest management policies and practices in Indonesia, including forests managed by Perhutani.
The president who is also a forester even asked where is Perhutani teak forest whose people are prosperous? After repeating the questions three times, the participants compactly said none.
Now we have high hopes for Minister Siti Nurbaya’s policy of welcoming the President’s call for corrective action. The P39 / 2017 policy which is widely opposed by Perhutani elements must be carried out wholeheartedly. Can no longer decrease his enthusiasm. This policy will expressly improve the condition of farmers on the island of Java who are very poor in land so they can live in prosperity. This policy can also help Perhutani because all profit sharing with farmers will be transparent and go directly to Perhutani’s account. There will be no more loopholes for those who exploit farmers for their own benefit.
In the P39, if the farmer group planted wood then they got 70% and Perhutani 30%. Cultivation activities, farmers get 80% and Perhutani 20%. Nature Tourism Activities, Farmers get 90% and Perhutani 10%. The farmer groups also received legal recognition from the Minister through the Director General of Social Forestry. Each member of the group gets the same area and is well mapped. Farmers are not allowed to sell the land because they do not own the land. The concern of farmers about transferring land has been well anticipated in the regulation. Objectively, I think that the P39 policy has fulfilled the elements of justice and sustainability. There is no reason to reject it.
We need to strengthen our support for the new Perhutani Managing Director and his staff to be firm in supporting this good policy. In several dialogues I have with them, there is a strong commitment to making basic improvements at Perhutani. I even seriously said to the President Director of Perhutani as follows “If the President Director succeeds in dealing with this turbulence, please write a book because many people will learn from this experience.”
I hope that the new Perhutani Supervisory Board will also seriously take corrective actions within Perhutani as mandated by the President.
I am sure those who reject the P 39 do not really understand the content and spirit of corrective action contained in the regulation. If you already understand and also continue to refuse, it is necessary to question their commitment to building sustainable Java forests, prosperous farmers and healthier Perhutani.
Chalid Muhammad
KLHK Senior Advisor
