Strengthening Family Farming Organization towards food sovereignty (Agusdin pulungan, WAMTI/Indonesia Farmers and Fishers Society Organization,

Email: Wamti_indonesia@yahoo.com) WORLD RURAL FORUM CONFERENCE THE FAMILY FARMING : FEEDING THE WORLD, CARING FOR THE EARTH BILBAO, SPAIN, OCTOBER 5, 2011.

Food plays an important role in the Indonesian economy where the largest part of the population is food producers. Food also has a very big share in the cost of living as well as small farmers income. And, families farmers are group of people whom most instrumental in producing food as well as the largest food consumers. More than half the countries of 245 million people living on agriculture are small family farmers. For them, agriculture needs to be seen as a struggle to ensure the family to food. From the food groups, rice is the most important food consumption and

production patterns of the Indonesian family farmers. In fact, total amount of poor people in Indonesia is about 30, 02 million (12, 49% from the total population), 2011. In which 64, 7% of them are small agriculture producers. As a socio economic instrument, rural development could create the opportunities economic development as well as improving the access to food for people. Unfortunately, the support is still very limited. The situations like imbalance of resources distribution, limited support for production facilities, uncertain climate challenges, limited attention of researches, are all created constraints of family famers to sovereign from foods. In the sense of producing foods, farmers in everydays live are still facing problems in accessing high-quality seeds, fertilizers, water, and rural infrastructure. In the other hands, the awareness that agriculture could benefit to provide food for family nutrition and health and the knowledge about the relation between growing food practices, the yields and its nutrition to health is still as another challenges.
1

From a complexity environment, the demand and supply of food commodities become fragile or instable, especially in its availability and pricing development. Look into the market mechanism, the price fluctuation damage the farmers market as well as weaken the people buying power. When the food prices fluctuated, it affects at large the income of small family farmers and its access to food. And, the government import food policy also creates a distortion on farmers market. It is understandable that agriculture is complex to become stable. Because it does not take place in an economic vacuum. It should be done in harmony with the natural environment, facilitated by proper social context, availability of knowledge and skills, financial systems, the market and trade system. What is the Role of Farmer Organizations in Facing Food Crisis? Farmers organization has a strategic role in determining and mobilizing the family and community into food systems. In which, the resources could be wisely addressed to deal with the people food sovereignty. Farmers Institutionalization through the organization network would be effective in improving the farmers insight and knowledge to address the problems of agricultural production, collectively and with an ecological style. How is youth in Agriculture? The absent of youth in agriculture is a todays problem of the global agriculture. We usually in trap by the short term policy that may crated that agriculture is no longer attractive for many young people. That is why, agrarian reform become a necessary policy or program to be done in order to give incentive to the youth to be able to work in agriculture with the future and or to improve the family farmer economic of scale.

What aspects should be considered in order to strengthen family farmers towards caring food for people? a. Problems of agriculture should be seen at a locality approaches ; how the actual ability of rural communities in meeting the needs of foods for their nutrition and health and how to contribute the food supply for other people, in accordance with preferences and capabilities of the availability of the resources. To start improving the food conditions of rural communities is only fitting if done with participatory manner and well attention to socio cultural issues of local communities. b. Organizing the farmers by food commodities that they produced (farmers group by commodities). Where the function of the farmers Organization as a critical mass in the rural development may create a model of partnerships to mobilize local resources combining with other external resources in a sustainable manner. c. To create participatory effective food planning and implementation in local level

integrate between farmers and government. And how in planning, the market not to be put always at the first place but the needs of nutrition and health for the family farmers and peoples should be given as a priority. d. It is necessary to dig a new thinking policy of local food empowerment with a multidimensional approach. The National and international food policy should be directed to appreciate and support the local food culture and utilize the biodiversity as the fundament in building the strong access of small family farmers to food. e. In the years of drought, flood, hail or insect plague, its reserve to compensate the farmer for his crop losses. Risk management facing the climate challenges as well as price instability: could be reserved by applying crop insurance system. Thus, the farmer is insured against the disasters and might possibly the people are insured against hunger.
3

The last but not lease, to promote a campaign program in the national and global level to raise awareness of the leaders to make agriculture to become a possible place for the choice of the youth to become their future profession or promising job is a must. TOMORROWS WORLD NEEDS THE YOUNG FARMERS Thank you