The National Election Winning Team (TPN) for Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud has revealed that the candidate pair for president and vice president, number 3 on the ballot, will continue the food estate program initiated by the Joko Widodo administration.
However, TPN stated that Ganjar-Mahfud MD’s government, if elected, would modify the food estate concept.
The commitment to continue the Food Estate program was conveyed by Executive Secretary of TPN, Heru Dewanto, during a media discussion on ‘Calculation of land redistribution policies and administrative social justice through fulfilling indigenous rights and customary communities.’
Heru stated that the food estate concept is not inherently flawed but needs to be implemented in a more realistic manner, avoiding a single large-scale national food estate project concentrated in one location.
“The food estate concept is not a bad one. It’s about how to implement it, not creating a single large national food estate and then implementing it in one place,” said Heru on Monday, January 22, 2024.
Heru explained that the concept of the food estate would be scaled down. By narrowing the scope, Heru hopes to identify the potential of each region in empowering farmers.
“Those who were previously farm laborers will become farm entrepreneurs. Therefore, we integrate a group of small land farmers together until reaching a certain economic scale, enabling corporatization,” said Heru.
According to Heru, the Food Estate program will also include the development of ecosystems beyond agriculture, such as the livestock sector. “Derivatives include industry and so on,” added Heru.
He further explained that the Food Estate program in each region would be different, considering the varying economic scales between regions.
The changes being prepared reflect the government’s commitment to continuing the program designed by the current administration to maximize the interests of the public.
“So, conceptually, we approve of the food estate, but the current food estate needs to be criticized. Criticizing something doesn’t mean we are against what has been done,” said Heru.
President Joko Widodo implemented the Food Estate program to anticipate the impact of the global food crisis.
However, the program faced criticism from various groups for being centralized in the Ministry of Defense and lacking community involvement in its management. Additionally, the Food Estate program was accused of sacrificing the environment.
Investigations by Pantau Gambut, WALHI Kalimantan Tengah, and BBC Indonesia found issues with 3,964 hectares of land last year, where tree cover was lost without yielding cassava crops.
During January-October 2022, the team identified 10 villages indicating tree cover loss in Pulang Pisau, Kapuas, and Gunung Mas regencies.
The Food Estate program has been a focal point in the debates among presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Pair number 2, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, expressed their commitment to continuing the Food Estate program as part of achieving food self-sufficiency.
Mahfud MD critiques the Food Estate
In a distinct perspective, Mahfud MD has criticized the shortcomings of the Food Estate project. Aria Bima, the Chairman of the National Winning Team (TPN) for Ganjar-Mahfud, explained the purpose behind the criticism expressed by Vice Presidential candidate Mahfud MD regarding the food estate project in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan. Bima stated that the criticism does not mean a lack of support for the project initiated during President Joko Widodo’s era but serves as a correction to refine it.
According to Mahfud, the program handled by the Ministry of Defense under the leadership of Prabowo Subianto is considered a failure and environmentally damaging.
“So, according to me, if that criticizes the current government of Mr. Jokowi, it doesn’t mean not supporting it. There is a corrective action, strengthen, accelerate, and improve,” said Aria on January 22, 2024.
He mentioned that every candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election must have a strong commitment to addressing these issues.
“Don’t play around with this; this is microeconomics, the people are waiting, this concerns the stomach, it concerns food,” he said.
Bima then stated that the ideas presented by Ganjar-Mahfud in the 2024 Presidential Election are not merely a continuation of President Jokowi’s work but also a promise to strengthen, accelerate, and improve these programs.
In the fourth debate of the 2024 Presidential Election on January 21, 2024, Mahfud criticized the food estate program from President Jokowi’s era. The program is currently under the coordination of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is also the presidential candidate number 1.
Mahfud himself is currently serving as the active Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. He mentioned that the food estate project is a failure, environmentally damaging, and consequently detrimental to the country.
“Don’t be like the failed food estate that damages the environment; that’s correct, isn’t it? We incur losses,” said Mahfud in the vice-presidential debate.
Apart from Mahfud, criticism of the food estate project has also been expressed by vice-presidential candidate number 1, Muhaimin Iskandar. He expressed concern about the food estate project, stating that it neglects farmers and harms the environment.
“On the other hand, we are concerned about the national food estate procurement. The food estate neglects our farmers; it harms our indigenous communities. It generates agrarian conflicts and even damages our environment. This must be stopped,” said Muhaimin.
