Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – A farmer from Terbanggi Besar district, 58-year-old Surono Danu, has been diligently carrying out research into superior rice seedlings for decades.
The Bogor Institute of Agriculture alumnus has been leading a quiet life in Nambah Dadi village in the Lampung countryside since his early retirement.
Over the past year however, he has become very prominent in Lampung thanks to the superior rice strain he discovered and named Mari Sejahterakan Petani, literally meaning "Let's make farmers prosperous", or better known as Emespe (MSP).
Surono became the topic of conversation in Lampung not only due to his success developing the local prime seedling, but also because of a visit paid by PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to his home in February this year.
During the visit to Surono's small home with walls made of woven bamboo skin, Megawati and fellow party members sat on mats on the dirt floor due to a lack of chairs.
The visit received extensive media coverage, with Megawati saying she wishes to show her appreciation to Surono for developing the rice seedling. Megawati later asked central and regional party leaders to work with Surono to develop the rice seedling further.
"This is a superior seedling. Ibu Mega has given me the right to spread the MSP rice seed into East Java," said Surono during a meeting between farmers and PDI-P secretary-general Soetjipto in Mulyodadi village, East Java, in July. The meeting coincided with the East Java gubernatorial election campaign period.
The MSP rice seedling has since been welcomed by almost every province in the country due to widespread promotion by PDI-P leaders.
In trial harvests in Lampung, West Java and North Sumatra, the MSP seedling has proved to produce strong yields, with each hectare producing between 13 and 14 tons of unhusked rice.
Despite these successes, some trials, such as those in Serdang Bedagai regency, North Sumatra, failed. In that regency, farmers recently held a protest over the small 5 tons per hectare yield the MSP seedling produced.
Farmers said it was natural that the MSP seedling was often dubbed the "political rice".
In Lampung farmers said it was currently hard to find the MSP seedling, and the 5 kilogram sacks had changed in appearance and were being circulated outside the province.
"The 5 kilogram sack bears an image of Megawati and the words 'Let's Make Farmers Prosperous. Use Emespe prime rice seedling' below the picture. "Megawati Soekarnoputri is abbreviated as MSP. So, it's convenient," said a farmer in the outskirts of Bandarlampung, Sunoto.
Surono claimed to have entirely financed the research himself without any assistance from PDI-P. "Everything came from my own pocket. My capital is my diligence and a pair of pincers," he said.
Surono developed the strain after more than 20 years conducting experiments in the field. Motivated after seeing farmers hindered by poor yields, and in an attempt to preserve local prime seedlings from extinction, he strived at his research.
"Eventually local seedlings would have become extinct if they were not developed."
Surono has been traveling across Lampung, South Sumatra and Bengkulu since 1982 collecting local prime variety seedlings.
Surono declined to reveal how much he was assisted financially by the PDI-P, who used the rice project successfully in their campaign. "I dedicate my discovery to farmers across the country. I will not apply for a patent. Everyone can make use of it," he said.
In September, the PDI-P was reported to have stockpiled 100 tons of the MSP seedling in anticipation of the 2009 elections. It will be distributed free to farmers by PDI-P legislative candidates, who will reimburse them between Rp 5,000 and Rp 6,000 for production costs.
How the profits from the sale of MSP rice is to be shared between the PDI-P and Surono remains unclear, as do the promises made by party leaders and candidates to farmers who intend to grow the MSP rice strain.
The MSP rice seedling has now become a political commodity and has faced public criticism at protests in Ajibarang, Banyumas and Central Java in mid-October. Farmers, outraged when PDI-P leaders failed to pay for their rice, burned their harvests in protest.
The party promised to pay farmers Rp 7,000 per kilogram of harvest, around Rp 1,000 higher than the market price. But after three months, farmers are yet to receive any money.