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DECLARATION AND DEMANDS OF FARMER ORGANIZATIONS AND NGO’S TOWARDS THE DELEGATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA INVOLVED IN THE WTO AGRICULTURE NEGOTIATIONS
10th May 2004
As a member of the G-33 group, the Government of Indonesia recently made a proposal concerning “SP/SSM” (Special Product/Special Safeguard Mechanism) at the WTO. This proposal is currently being negotiated at the WTO Committee on Agriculture. In response to the “SP/SSM” proposal, we, as representatives of 11 farmer organizations and non-governmental organizations, have met on 10th May 2004 to discuss this issue. We have formulated the results of our discussion in the following points of declaration and demands:
1. The Government of Indonesia must give priority to the national economy as the most important matter in the entire perspective of trade liberalization. In particular, the Government of Indonesia must protect its peoples of which farmers make up the majority of the population. It is the obligation of the Government of Indonesia to stop the ongoing liberalization program in the agriculture sector because this program has only further embedded lokal farmers into a state of acute mass poverty. In this context, the policies of the Government of Indonesia should always prioritize three basic issues, namely, people’s food sovereignty, rural development and the eradication of poverty.
2. The Government of Indonesia must implement agrarian reform as the means to increase people’s welfare and fulfill the rights of farmers to a better livelihood. Subsequently, the Government of Indonesia must:
• Create a range of mechanisms to protect and defend small-scale farmers.
• Protect lokal agriculture products such as horticultural products (fruit and vegetables) and products of husbandry.
• Support farmers as the key economic actors in the entire trading chain of agriculture commodities and enable farmers to become totally independent of corporations.
• Protect lokal varieties and culture, and indigenous knowledge.
• Reconsider and revise policies that are concerned with the utilization of chemical fertilizers and pesticides due to the risks of environmental degradation, deterioration of land productivity, and the hazards to human health.
3. In order to sustain the people’s agriculture practices for the future, the Government of Indonesia must include and promote agriculture education as an integral part of the curriculum for elementary students in rural areas.
4. The Government of Indonesia must develop and maintain proper infrastructure in rural areas with the full participation of the peoples (for example in the case of irrigation networks).
5. The Government of Indonesia must evaluate the initial far-ranging impacts resulting from the implementation of the WTO Agreements on Agriculture (AOA) particularly in the context of people’s food sovereignty, rural development and eradication of poverty, prior to making commitments in further agriculture negotiations. The Government of Indonesia must involve the participation of farmer organizations in this evaluation.
6. In response to the “SP/SSM” proposal of the Government of Indonesia in its position as member of the G33 group, we are of the opinion that the “SP/SSM” proposal is functionally very limited due to its concern with only one pillar, namely the market access pillar. Therefore, we conclude that the “SP/SSM” proposal is incapable of saving the entire agriculture sector in Indonesia and could not provide adequate and effective solutions for lokal farmers in the midst of liberalization of agriculture.
7. In respect for transparency and responsibility to the peoples of the Republic of Indonesia, we demand that the Government of Indonesia prepare a document that elaborates on the position of the Government of Indonesia in the WTO agriculture negotiations. Furthermore, we demand that in the formulation of this document, the Government of Indonesia must involve the participation of the Indonesian public (particularly the farmers) and allow public scrutiny of the document.
8. Subsequently, we demand that the Government of Indonesia subject the document (stated in point 7) to scrutiny and endorsement by the Indonesian Parliament.
9. The Government of Indonesia must build the solidarity among other developing countries in order to collectively push the Agriculture and Food sectors out of the WTO. This step should be executed based on the principle that the Agriculture and Food sectors are sectors that fulfill basic human rights, not sectors that strictly provide commodities of trade. Furthermore, this principle should emphasize on the advancement of the agriculture and food sectors for the sole welfare of the Indonesian peoples and farmers, and not for free market affairs.
The history of past civilizations has shown that when governments implement policies that do not accommodate the rights and aspirations of farmers, they were in greater danger of downfall. Similarly, nations that neglect their agriculture sectors are always trapped in poverty. Last but not least, in regard to the reformation process that is currently occurring in Indonesia in support of the political, social and cultural rights of all citizens, we demand that the State and Government of the Republic of Indonesia protect and fulfill the basic rights of the farmers.
Jakarta, 10th May 2004
Endorsed by:
1. Serikat Petani Jawa Barat/SPJB (West Java Federation of Farmers)
2. Serikat Petani Pasundan/SPP (Pasundan Federation of Farmers)
3. Federasi Petani dan Nelayan Sejahtera Indonesia/FPNSI
(Indonesian Federation for the Prosperity of Farmers and Fishermen)
4. Ikatan Petani Pengendalian Hama Terpadu Indonesia/IPPHTI
(Indonesian Association of Integrated Pest Control Farmers)
5. Serikat Tani Nasional/STN (National Federation of Farmers)
6. Masyarakat Pertanian Organik Indonesia DKI Jakarta (MAPORINA)
(Indonesian Society for Organic Farming, Jakarta branch)
7. Serikat Pemuda Desa untuk Demokrasi (SPDD)
(Federation of Village Youths for Democracy
8. Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan (KRKP)
(People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty)
9. Institute for Global Justice (IGJ)
10. Bina Swadaya
11. Farmers’ Initiatives for Ecological Livelihoods and Democracy (FIELD)
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