The Omnibus Law isn’t only pushing workers and employees; it also causes disaster for farmers’ livelihoods.
Why? The Omnibus Law is one of the barriers to Indonesia achieving food sovereignty.
Farmers are unable to improve their standard of living as they are held back by legislation that primarily benefits exporters.
Yes, the Omnibus Law actually makes it easier for foreign parties to import various commodities into Indonesia.
“Imports are becoming increasingly easy to carry out, which clearly harms our farmers. For instance, in the rice sector, 2023 saw the highest rice import figures in the past five years.
In fact, we should focus on improving domestic production, but the Omnibus Law shifts that focus, making imports the government’s chosen option,” stressed Henry Saragih, Chairperson of the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI), on Thursday, October 16, 2024.
Beyond imports, Henry Saragih noted there are numerous other factors hampering the development of agriculture in Indonesia.
Firstly, the fulfillment of farmers’ rights to land remains largely neglected, especially with the Job Omnibus Law, which doesn’t favor farmers and small-scale food producers.
One issue is the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses in the name of Development and National Strategic Projects (PSN), as well as the formation of a Land Bank that exacerbates agrarian conflicts.
Also Read: RI Corn Imports Soar in September 2024 Up to 200%
In addition, the release of forest areas for Food Estate projects is clearly detrimental to farmers and the environment.
The instability of food prices in Indonesia also often disadvantages farmers. Price fluctuations in recent years have been driven by weak government regulation of food prices.
Therefore, repealing the Omnibus Law could remove harmful regulations affecting farmers, such as land seizures, the facilitation of food imports, land use conversion, and more.