Made Arya Kencana & Camelia Pasandaran, Denpasar – New data shows that Bali's farmers are steadily being squeezed out as agricultural lands are increasingly converted for use in the island's lucrative tourism industry.
The Bali branch of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said on Thursday that 643,029 farmers remained in the province, which has a population of some 3.8 million, and that number was expected to decline even further.
"Last year, the number of farmers was still at 673,928," said BPS's Bali director, Gde Suarsa.
He said farming accounted for 28.4 percent of Bali's labor force and was concentrated in several rice-producing centers around the province, especially in Tabanan district in the island's south.
Suarsa said land conversion, with farms being redeveloped to make way for hotels and restaurants, was forcing farmers to change professions. "The number of workers in the accommodation and restaurant sector is now 620,045, which is up compared to the 472,840 counted in 2010," he said.
Bali's Agricultural Office, meanwhile, reported that the land used to cultivate rice had decreased by 6,479 hectares in 2010 to 143,804 hectares. "The impact of land conversion is that rice production weakened, from 878,000 tons to 846,000 tons" that year, said Made Putra Suryawan, the office's chief.
Jeffrey Kairupan, director of the central bank's Denpasar branch, said the province's agricultural sector only absorbed 1.7 percent of the Rp 24 trillion ($2.81 billion) in banking credit available in Bali last year.
In a presidential lecture at the State Palace on Thursday, a leading economics professor from Cambridge University, Ha-Joon Chang, said it was critical for Indonesia to continue to improve its productivity, particularly in its agricultural sector.
Chang cited the examples of the Netherlands and Denmark, countries that had limited land resources but were still major agricultural exporters because they applied advanced technology.
He said the government should work with the private sector, rather than completely dominating it. Protectionist policies were helpful so long as they ensured higher productivity, he said.
"You need to make sure protection translates into productivity goals," Chang said. "The government needs to discipline its support by reducing or withdrawing it from poor performers."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia had to determine its own policies to help boost productivity, but he agreed with Chang on the need to develop all sectors of the economy.
"Remember, a T-shirt doesn't fit all," he said. "But we need to develop our technology and our innovation capabilities. Without that, we will not achieve the higher productivity that we need in developing our economy."