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The functions of land are many, and the functions of land used for agriculture exceed those of only production. The multifunctionality of agriculture land, especially in paddy wetland areas, has recently received substantial attention in Monsoon Asia (Se-Ik Oh, 2003; Groenfeldt, 2005; Kada, 2006). This is true for those countries that use rice as an import substitute commodity and, concomitantly, as a source of livelihood for the people as well as a main vehicle to achieve food security. In addition, some developing countries face the problem of conversion of productive agricultural land. To respond to the problem, in the case of Indonesia, a programme to make use permanent of agricultural land was implemented. This sparked questions regarding whether this programme could maintain the sustainability of agricultural wetland areas. And, whether there are any policy measures to complement the respective programmes for the benefit of all. In this regard it is necessary to define the multifunctional dimensions of agriculture, particularly paddy cultivation, and the general policy support to maintain multifunctionality. Indonesia's case will be elaborated in some detail, and focus specifically on the reorientation of rice agribusiness development and the prospect of agricultural diversification in order to maintain multifunctionality in irrigated wetland areas.
There has been a gradual expansion of the concept or meaning of multifunctionality. In general, agriculture has two main functions, namely providing agricultural products and non-food functions (OECD, 1998). Korean agriculture, for instance, provides three groups of non-food services: food security, ensuring rural viability and environmental protection (Se-Ik Oh, 2003). In view of the specific nature of rice farming, agriculture contributes to environmental sustainability in terms of flood mitigation, water resource conservation, preventing land erosion and landslides, conserving organic waste, cleaning the air we breathe as well as air temperature mitigation (Agus et al., 2002). The landscape, biodiversity, eco-tourism and recreation are also valuable non-food uses derived from the use of agricultural land.
Most of the non-food functions can be characterized as positive externalities. These functions have a number of characteristics, they can be seen primarily as public goods as well as joint products, and are not easy to estimate (Se-Ik Oh, 2003). Moreover, the non-food effects of agriculture are not uniform throughout the country. They depend on farm structure, commodity composition, farming practices, technologies, climate as well as the economic and environmental conditions.
At least three policy options can be considered: (1) the protection of arable lands from alternative uses; (2) price policy support during the harvesting season; and, (3) direct payment to farmers. Groenfeldt (2005) suggests broader and more comprehensive government intervention consisting of four basic levels, as follows: support to farmers, support to the rural communities, support to rural areas and support to the agricultural sector. Decentralized, location specific, farmer-led research would become relatively more important for a multifunctional approach. In addition, Othman (2006) suggests that a mix of mechanisms to encourage environmentally sustainable agriculture needs to be established. Agricultural policy should relate to the aggregate economy and the environment rather than on a sectoral basis.
In Indonesia, in irrigated wetland areas, especially during the wet season, rice farming plays an important role in farmer income. Recently, rice farming in the region faced severe internal constraints and challenges (Simatupang and Rusastra, 2004), more explicitly: (a) a sliding trend in competitiveness indicated by decreasing total factor productivity and the profitability of rice farming; (b) marginalization of farming capacity due to declining competitiveness and land size ownership; (c) a falling trend in production growth due to the diminishing trend in harvested area and stagnant yields; (d) the rising trend of rice production variability due to uncertain climate; and (e) internal constraints related to natural resources of land and water, technology, input factors and capital.
Based on the internal factors mentioned, an appropriate strategy for rice development in the near future is to optimize and improve the efficiency of the rice agribusiness system through enhanced resource utilization, and improving rice farming efficiency as well as post-harvest efficiency. In addition, rice agribusiness development should be dedicated to raise the income and food security of rice farming households in conjunction with bolstering national food security, as well as stimulating the rural economy. The objectives mentioned differ completely from the previous paradigms that focus on buttressing national food security but at the expense of farmer income and welfare.
The final concept, and perhaps the most strategic, is agricultural farm diversification. Empirical evidence reveals that farm diversification significantly improves farmer income and is environmentally sustainable (Salim and Supriyati, 2006). On this occasion, the roles of secondary crops are substantial. Horticulture generates higher income than secondary crops, however, capital use is intensive and they are subject to high risk.
In general, wetland diversification has good prospects but faces technical, economic, social and cultural constraints. The following strategic policies should be taken into account (Simatupang et al., 2003): (a) improve the availability and accessibility of technology, capital and extension services for non-rice commodities; (b) develop irrigation infrastructure (pump irrigation, during the dry season in particular), improve yield and institute a price stability programme for high-value commodities; (c) empower farmer groups and develop functional and institutional (profit sharing) linkages with other agribusiness elements in order to boost production, generate additional farmer income and sustainability diversity farming.
Through farm diversification, multifunctionality and poverty reduction can be achieved simultaneously. Agricultural sustainability, specifically a guaranteed agricultural land programme, can be maintained if farmers' income and welfare can be improved. Policy support for non-rice commodity development, secondary crops in particular, is a must .
Written by I Wayan Rusastra, Programme Leader of R&D, UNESCAP-CAPSA, Bogor, Indonesia. |
