Camelia Pasandaran, Palembang – In the midst of global worries over food availability, farmers are just as worried about their livelihood.

Maryati, a farmer in Banyu Urip village, in South Sumatra's Banyu Asin district, has heard about the government's plan to allow duty-free imports of foodstuffs and is not pleased.

"As local farmers, we're worried," she said. "When we enjoy a little bit of a higher price on chilies, people complain. When will local farmers enjoy the proper price of food?"

On Thursday, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu announced the government was considering instituting duty-free imports for 30 types of food commodities and their related products. The decision sparked negative reaction from farmers.

Maryati, who is the head of her local Farmers and Fishermen Association, said she disagreed with the policy.

"If we're flooded with imported products with competitive prices, it will make it difficult to sell our own products," Maryati said.

"The condition of the farmers is not good. They hardly enjoy the benefits of production. People even complained when chili prices only slightly increased."

Vice President Boediono, visiting the area, told Maryati that he would stabilize rice prices.

"It should not cause a loss to the farmers or the consumers," Boediono said. "We will control how much food comes in duty free, but we need to understand that imported food is needed because there are some regions that are lacking food."

One way to increase rice production may be to encourage the use of a new seed variety, Impara, which can be planted twice a year and holds the promise of more harvests.

"The new seed variety has been proven to stand up," Agriculture Minister Suswono said. "You can ask your local agent to get the seed."

In addition to facing the threat of imports, local farmers had other complaints, including minimal access to credit to develop their farms, low prices for agricultural products and bad infrastructure that results in higher transportation fees to deliver products.

"We really hope farmers can enjoy proper prices," Tukijo, a farmer, told Boediono. "We never enjoy the government's basic price. Moreover, we never have access to credit."

Another farmer, Sugiyono, complained about a lack of infrastructure. "The government should provide better road infrastructure that can connect villages," he said. "It has increased our production costs."

Responding to concerns over the low cost of unhusked rice, Suswono said farmers could sell their crops to the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) at Rp 2,690 (30 cents) per kilogram.

Boediono said he did not see any reason Indonesia could not fulfill its own food needs. "We must not allow the kinds of food scarcities seen in other countries happen in Indonesia," he said.

"It is only a matter of how we support our farmers to intensify our production. It is our job to secure food availability, and if possible also to supply food for other countries."

Boediono cited Central Statistics Agency data showing annual population growth at 1.5 percent, or around 3.6 million people.

"The growth in rice consumption has not matched population growth," he said. "However, the increasing demand is not just because of population growth but also better welfare, with people eating more and better."