API’s Context and Proposals for Attracting Youth in Agriculture

Prepared by Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API) December 2013 – May 2014

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Background

1. At the global level, the United Nations (UN) declared 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) to recognize the significant contribution of small-scale farmers in feeding the world and caring for the earth.

2. In line with this, AFA is implementing an IYFF campaign plan with six priority issues, including attracting the youth to agriculture.

3. AFA is implementing a policy proposal process on attracting the youth into agriculture through the FACT (Farmers Advocacy Consultation Tool) process as developed by its development partner, Agriterra.

4. In the light of all these, API conducted membership consultations and participatory research among its member organizations aimed at translating the IYFF agenda into policy agenda for policy dialogue at the national and regional levels.

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Consultation to members

A half-day consultation on the topic of Youth in Agriculture was held. Participants were youth representatives from three (3) API member organizations.

API secretariat provided reference documents (translated from AFA’s files) and some power point presentations which were presented in friendly languages of the members.

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Objectives of Consultation and Data Gathering

1. Identify the key issues and problems faced by youth in agriculture

2. Identify initiatives of farmer organizations in addressing these issues and problems

3. Identify policy proposals for decision makers at national and regional levels

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Expected Outputs

1.Key issues and problems faced by youth in agriculture2.Initiatives of farmer organizations in addressing these issues and problems3.Policy proposals for decision makers at national and regional levels

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Participants

API held Focused Group Discussion (FGD) in three member organizations. Youth representatives from API members organization (up to 35 years old), namely:

a). Paguyuban Petani Gunung Sumbing (PPGS) in Wonosobo District (Central Java Province), conducted the FGD on December 29, 2013.The participants were youth, total amount 22 participants (16 men, 6 women).

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Participants Continued...

b). Organisasi Petani Merapi Merbabu (OPMM) in Boyolali District (Central Java Province), held the FGD on December 30, 2013. The participants were youth, total amount 23 participants (all men).

c). Serikat Petani Lumajang (SPL) held the FGD in Lumajang District (East Java Province) on December 31, 2013. There were youth particpants attended the FGD (39 men, 28 women), total particpants were 67 people.

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The Major Issues and Concerns faced by Youth in Agriculture

1.Price standardization is not in place yet.2. Lack of human resources (especially youth farmers), and expensive wage in agriculture. 3. Lack of the cost of production (especially for fertilizer), farmers got trapped in debts with payment system that brought serious financial trouble for them4. Lack of the control on land by small farmers5. Plant’s pest and disease.

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Major Issues Continued...

6. Central government policies are not supporting farmers (i.e. the Regulation to Control Tobacco and the Importation of Vegetables)7. The unpredictable, uncertain climate8. Knowledge and technology (agricultural machinery)9. The vanishing of local seeds and the widespreading of manufactured seeds

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Major Findings of the Research

1. Sharing knowledge among farmers, youth and elder farmers through “musyawarah” or popular discussion is very important (this is part of family farming)

2. Women run important role through religious regular activities (reading Qoran together)

3. Handling pest and disease of vegetables and tobacco with our own methods; or replicate other farmer group’s best practices in handling plant’s pest and disease

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Major Findings Continued...

4. Networking among farmers’organizations at national level (API, IOA), and hosting exchange visit/learning visit from API’s members5. Tobacco farmers have invented their own post harvest machine for tobacco, in order to gain added value. This effort has not been done by other tobacco farmers of other region (such as Probolinggo, Bali, Mataram/NTB, and Sumatra)6. Seed purifying, selection of local variety of tobacco.

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Major Recommendation based on Consultation and Perticipatory Research

1. To push policy on family farming (including youth, women) such as through national law of Protection and Empowerement to Farmers (UUP3) that covers : capital (land, seeds, agricultural input), capital for work (money to pay wage, pre-planting, planting season), to protect the price and to assure the market.

2. Protection of price/commodity produced by small farmers, through among others:a. Collective marketing for organization’s commodityb. Information on price of the commodity for farmers, farmers friendly online information

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Major Recommendation Continued...

3. Pushed the government to protect productive lands in order to avoid the conversion of agricultural land into industry and other non agrcultural purposes

4. Farmers’ friendly access to market and agriculture technology (including appropriate post harvest technology)

5. Technical support to access to capital (in order to create bankable farmer organizations to be engaged in partnership with local banks)

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Major Recommendation Continued...

14. Training on organic production and organic produces marketing15. Data gathering on the potential of the lands (calculating what farmers controlled and owned, to identify our potential) in order to access supports, and to consolidate the land to collectively managed

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The three most important benefit of FACT Youth

1. Well systematically tools to facilitate farmers organization in advocacy

2. Easy to be internally absorbed into daily organizational advocacy process

3.

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Thank You

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