Food Estate in Transmigrant Society, Central Borneo: Blessed or Curse?

The food estate program implemented in Central Borneo has elicited both positive and negative responses from diverse segments of society. The present scenario is closely intertwined with the pressing nature and consequential effects, particularly within the domains of environmental and ecosystem sciences, economics, and socio-cultural sciences. This research examines the implementation and effects of the food estate program on the transmigrant community in the Pandih Batu District, Pulang Pisau Regency, located in Central Borneo. It uses a qualitative research design. Data were gathered through observations, documentation, and interviews. The focus of this study pertains to the transmigrant community residing in the regions of Blanti, Siam, and Gadabung. Establishing a food estate in Pulang Pisau has yielded favorable outcomes within the community, including the provision of assistance and enhancements in infrastructure, particularly in terms of road accessibility for the distribution of crops. However, it also raises issues like ecosystem alterations and communal farming practices. Despite the need for the land to support the target’s achievement, people feel driven to boost the production of the agricultural products the government has set as a goal. The establishment of the food estate has resulted in a situation where farmers have become reliant on the government for the allocation of resources.


Introduction
The food estate is a government programme with the concept of food development that is carried out in an integrated manner, covering agriculture, plantations, and animal husbandry in an area [1].One of the 2020-2024 National Strategic Programmes (PSN) includes this programme.The background to the development of the Food Estate programme is the increasing need for world food in line with rapid population growth.On the other hand, the availability of land outside Java can produce food.In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected world food vulnerability, thus encouraging the government to anticipate crises [2].This programme is expected to strengthen the existing food sovereignty system in Indonesia.The food estate was finally inaugurated as one of the National Strategic Programmes (PSN) in Government Regulation 109 of 2020.This Food Estate is carried out using the concept of Industrial agriculture, which has a science and technology base [3].The Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, explained that developing the Horticulture Food Estate area is one of the Ministry of Agriculture's super-priority programmes.The development of the food estate area is intended as a land expansion to increase national food reserves [4].The food estate programme has been developed in several regions, such as North Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and East Nusa Tenggara.The development of the food estate programme in 2021 will be carried out in Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and Papua (Merauke) to create agricultural areas that support food security in Indonesia [5].
Food security is important for national development, especially in improving the economy through agricultural products [6].One of the agricultural products is rice, which is still the main food commodity for the people of Indonesia.This rice barn development programme has been implemented previously in Indonesia [7].However, this programme was also implemented with the development of 1,000,000 hectares of peat land (PLG) in Central Kalimantan during the Suharto era.Furthermore, during the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono era, he developed the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate programme, abbreviated as MIFEE, and several programmes related to rice barns in Kalimantan.However, the previous Food Estate programme did not work as expected due to various constraints.
In Central Kalimantan, the development of rice barns based on the 2021 Draught State Budget Financial Notes is aligned with farmer empowerment programmes and small farming investments, which have an area of 165,000 ha.The government is optimising this programme by selecting potential land, increasing Human Resources (HR) expertise, and allocating government budgets in this field.One of the food estate locations is centred in the Central Kalimantan region, which has a land area of 60,778 hectares in two districts, namely Pulang Pisau Regency and Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan Province.The Central Government assists local governments in the amount of 1.4 trillion rupiahs, or 9.4 percent of the budget, from the Ministry of Agriculture to run food estates.
In Pulang Pisau Regency, food estate land was developed in residential areas and transmigrant community land in Pangkuh and Belanti Siam.The transmigrant people in the area have been conducting agricultural activities since the 1980s [8].This area is close to the development area of the Archipelago Capital City (IKN).To support the relocation of the IKN, food commodities are also prepared to meet the needs of the people who will mobilise to Kalimantan Island.
Previous studies have shown that implementing the food estate programme could have gone more easily and as expected [6].Instead, this programme creates new problems for the community and the surrounding environment.Some of the negative impacts of the food estate programme are ecological crises, ecosystem damage, neglect of local community rights, social inequality, the potential for social conflict, programme unsustainability, and other long-term impacts [6], [9]- [13].This condition gave rise to criticism and negative responses to the government's flagship programme.This criticism became the reason for the community's refusal not to participate further in running this programme, so it has the potential for programme failure [5].
The food estate programme will certainly have implications for transmigrant communities, which have long relied on the agricultural sector as their main livelihood [8].This programme can impact social change and transformation, leading to positive and negative outcomes.For example, at the beginning of the programme, the government assisted in the form of production facilities such as preand post-harvest equipment.The assistance aims to support the success of the food estate programme.However, since mid-2021, farmers have yet to receive this assistance.This condition impacts the enthusiasm of farmers who are promised to receive stimulus during the programme; the existence of beneficiaries needs to be evenly distributed; there is a potential for irregularities; and the yield target is felt to be burdensome.Therefore, it is important to see how the impact of the food estate has affected the transmigrant community in Pulang Pisau, especially Blanti Siam and Gadabung.
This research fills in the gaps in the results of previous research, which tended to focus on geographical, environmental, economic, and legal aspects but lacked analysis of the social aspects of society [9], [14]- [18].On the other hand, the research subjects are transmigrant communities with their own characteristics, especially their socio-cultural and ecological aspects [8], [19].The people of Blanti, Siam, and Gadabung are migrants from Java who still adhere to local wisdom and have strong social relations.In addition, they have been running agriculture as a livelihood for a long time.This study uses Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andrew M. Warner's Natural Resource Curse (NRC) theory.The basic assumption of this theory is that non-optimal management of natural resources will cause problems for society.If these natural resources are not used properly, they can destroy the community and its ecology.Although NRC is often used to see the use of active mining, recently it has been applied to analyse the food estate phenomenon in Indonesia.Apart from that, the writer also uses the ideas of Theodore Dos Santos and Paul Baran about dependency theory and cretinism in state policy.In this theory, the authors analyse the dependency of farmers in the food estate area on government assistance programmes, both regional and central.This assistance aims to stimulate programme activities to increase agricultural yields.However, when the assistance was stopped, the productivity of agricultural products decreased, so it was not in line with programme objectives.

Method
The research was carried out from August to October 2022 in the Pulang Pisau area, Central Kalimantan, designated by the government as the executor of the Food Estate Programme in Indonesia.This study uses qualitative methods to explore data and gain an in-depth understanding of social phenomena (Silverman, 2005, p. 112).This method emphasises in-depth description (thick description) that sees phenomena from the point of view of social actors and an understanding of social processes rather than aspects of social statistics (Blaikie, 2000, p. 251).In qualitative research, the logic used is inductive.The characteristics and procedures of the qualitative research are very relevant to this study's design, which explains the Food Estate Programme practised by farmers in Pulang Pisau.
Data collection was carried out through observation to (1) understand social settings naturally, (2) understand events that influence social processes, (3) identify regularities or recurrences of social reality in society, and (4) understand social reality from the point of view of research subjects (Black & Champion, 2009, p. 286).Observations were carried out in a participatory manner.The primary data collection process was carried out through several stages: (1) semi-structured interviews with the transmigrant community, Gadabung Village officials, and Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan Province.(2) The research team will conduct focus group discussions with village officials.Furthermore, this research is also supported by secondary data.Secondary data collection was conducted through analysis at the local BPS related to the Food Estate programme.After the data collection process was completed, the data were analysed using the Huberman & Miles Interactive analysis model

Transmigrant Society in Central Borneo: Geography and Socio-Historical Context
Kalimantan (Borneo) is one of the main destinations for transmigration from the densely populated Java Island.The policy of the transmigration program is even recognized as the largest voluntary landsharing scheme in the world.This policy was quite popular during the Suharto era, which began in 1969 and ended when the New Order fell, namely in 1998 [8], [19].This program aims to move people from degraded areas or densely populated lands in Java and several adjacent islands to areas on the island.Indonesia's outermost areas can support agriculture or plantations and have social, economic, and political objectives.
One of the destinations for transmigration in the province of Central Kalimantan was the village of Gadabung, which in the past was known by local people as Pangkuh 8.This village is in the Pandih Batu sub-district, where there are pangkuh 5 to 8. The transmigration program in this village began in 1983 and continued until just before the collapse of the New Order regime, whose main focus was on opening up new agricultural land.Transmigrants received an allotment of 2 hectares of land per head of family plus life insurance assistance from the government for 18 months, ranging from basic food to money.In the early years, the community had to deal with agricultural conditions with highly acidic peat soils.This condition is coupled with residential areas full of forests and wildlife with a peatland thickness of up to 2 meters.Pest attacks on this peat soil include those by rats, monkeys, and locusts.This situation is further exacerbated by the community's ignorance of how to manage good peatlands.Lack of community knowledge has resulted in agricultural and plantation activities not showing optimal results due to crop failures, including the difficult availability of clean water.This uncertain condition resulted in many residents trying to find other fortunes.Others chose to return to their villages of origin by selling the allotted land they received previously at a relatively low price and only enough to cover the fare of returning to their place of origin.
Gadabung Village was originally named Belanti Hulu or Pangkoh VIII in 1983 and was inhabited by general transmigration residents.After being handed over to the Regional Government and inaugurated as a traditional village, the village's name was changed to Gadabung Village in 1985.At the beginning of the opening of the village location in 1988-1990, the peatland had a 2-meter thickness.Village communities need help managing peatlands.Agricultural activities and plantations provide little results (crop failure), and the availability of clean water is difficult.Villagers leave the village looking for work to survive after the life guarantee (Jadup, pen) provided by the government ends.The ecological condition of the village's peatlands began to change after the 1991-1992 land fires.The entire peatland in the village is relatively completely burned.After the fire, the community managed their yard and agricultural land well for planting rice.From 2016 to the present, Gadabung Village has been free from fires, and the villagers have started planting rice and a few perennial crops such as rubber, coconut, banana, sengon, and oil palm.The population of Gadabung Village as of March 2017 was administratively recorded as 1,612 people, with a total of 475 household heads.The male sex has as many as 854 souls, while the female sex has as many as 758 souls.The population distribution of each RT varies.The most densely populated RTs are RT 12, with 66 people; RT 11, with 49 people; and RT 7, with 45 people.The RT with the least population was RT 5, with 17 people, and RT 6, with 19 people.
The conditions were still forested at the beginning of opening and placing the transmigrants, but the government had cleared 1-2 pieces of land.Land 1 is preparing for paddy fields, and there is already a canal between the secondary canal and the forest next to it, which is 100 meters cleared; the allotment for each head of a family is 2 hectares, and 1 hectare has been cleared, and the other 1 hectare has not been cleared.At first, it was only a usufructuary right; after five years, it was changed to a certificate property right.
After the land distribution was completed, for approximately 1.5 years, the land was not yet ready for planting.However, after the President instructed them to continue farming, residents received assistance in the form of plant seeds, fertilizers, and other modern agricultural tools.For three years, extension workers and plantations also came to do this, and rice was then determined.For rice that is harvested every year, drugs are used.Previously, the local market did not exist due to limitations, but now there is one.Initially, people from companies traded, and residents bought their wares.Their initial transmigration was difficult, and life from the beginning did not have definite results.They were given subsidies by the government according to family members only.Many people's lives are uncomfortable, and some return to Java.
In Gadabung Village, the community uses the existing land and is invited to try again in the agricultural sector to be successful.Then, a stretch of land with an area of about 50 hectares was opened by villagers who still survived to farm.Initially, the land was abandoned after it was cleared; then they were taught farming and simultaneously took one piece of land together.In Gadabung Village, the land is good; there are not many problems, such as pests, so the land is easy to cultivate.The community can survive because they can grow vegetables, soybeans, and corn.In early 1994, rice was replanted, and people began to be invited to return to their respective fields, little by little.In 1995, they started planting local rice, and a million-hectare project was carried out during the Suharto era.
The dynamics of agriculture and plantations in Gadabung Village restarted in 2016.Some farmers cleared land because the price of palm oil fell.From the start, gardens were more suitable for growing rice, rubber, and oil palm.Rice is considered suitable by farmers because it is easy to grow.Many plant rubber, but the farmers cut them down because the seeds are not suitable.On average, rice is harvested twice a year; the average production is 3-4 tons, and some reach 8 tons; the quality is hybrid rice.
Additionally, tractors have not used tillage, and many farmers have yet to use organic fertilizers or rely on inorganic fertilizers.Meanwhile, the Food Estate Program requires centralized land, which must be complexly decomposed.Pulang Pisau Regency needs 10 thousand hectares, and Kapuas Regency needs 20 thousand hectares.Meanwhile, in Gadabung Village, 70 hectares of land are ready, while in Maliku Village, the exact area of land has yet to be identified.According to Mujiatno, as PPL, all sectors of agriculture, plantations, animal husbandry, and program allowances are directed to agricultural corporations.Farmers must form business entities independently, but until now, this effort has yet to be seen.If farmers want to be successful in one village, the local and central governments must be able to guarantee a sustainable program.However, an advantage is that Gadabung Village already has a production site for processing paddy into rice ready for sale, which is a solution for farmers who want to sell their crops immediately.A protracted drought came before the most recent major fire, which happened in 2015.Fortunately, the community was able to control the extent of the fire.However, fires cause respiratory diseases, and agricultural land also experiences crop failure, usually 5-6 tons/ha, but only 100 kg-1 ton/ha.From incident to incident, residents continue to learn how to manage fires because the main causes of fires are usually due to two things: the impact of fires in other villages and used cigarettes thrown carelessly.This management is successful.After 2015, the village of Gadabung was free from fires, and the community started planting rice and hard crops such as rubber, coconut, banana, sengon, and oil palm.The number of harvests also continues to increase from year to year.Even though it is not big, the rice is known to taste good, and the price differs from other villages.The transmigration program has made more than 90% of the population in Gadabung village work as farmers to this day, even though the soil conditions are unfavorable because the land type is peatland.The people of Gadabung village carried out various ways to make agricultural land successful, considering that the fertility of the peat soil is of the Mesotrophic type, namely peat with moderate mineral content and bases.This condition causes the community to have difficulty obtaining clean water sources and cultivating agricultural land without providing lime, fertilizers, and others to neutralize soil acidity levels.This situation is compounded by the ebb and flow of the Kahayan and Kapuas rivers, which divide the village of Gadabung.For the harvest to be successful and to control pests, the local community harvests twice a year, namely during the seasons of cultivating the soil and planting seeds in May and November.From fertilizing to applying insecticides, the rearing season is in January, February, June, and July.The rice harvest season occurs in March and September.

The Portrait of Food Estates in Central Borneo: Implementation and Its Impacts
The Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, stated that Food Estate is a solution amidst the threat of a food crisis due to a pandemic and stagnant economic growth.The government is optimizing the food estate program in several selected areas to maintain price stability and food availability.In addition, according to The Economist's report on the Global Food Security Index, Indonesia is in the 65th position out of 113 countries in the world.With this achievement, Indonesia is in the fifth position in the ASEAN region, which places it as a potential country for building food security.To launch the program, the Indonesian government has carried out infrastructure development to support agricultural facilities with the achievements of 65 dams, 1,088 reservoirs,1 million hectares of construction of new irrigation networks, 3 million hectares of rehabilitation of irrigation networks, and 306 sediment controllers.
A horticulture-based food estate aims to build an integrated horticultural area that is competitive, environmentally friendly, and modern, encourages synergy with stakeholders, and encourages the formation of corporation-based farmer institutions.The food estate area (food barn) in Central Kalimantan is cultivated on a land area of 168,000 hectares (ha).In 2020, 30,000 ha will be worked on as a pilot model.This land is in Pulang Pisau Regency, with 10,000 ha and 20,000 ha in Kapuas.The total area prepared is approximately 1000 hectares.Then the area that is in the process of being cultivated is 215 hectares.
The Food Estate Program itself changes old farming methods and implements new farming methods.The government supports the realization of this program by building infrastructure and facilities and providing assistance for agricultural needs [20]- [22].So far, the government's steps have been implemented well in Gadabung village.Some assistance, including lent tools, subsidized seeds and fertilizers, and repaired roads to facilitate access and distribution, has been provided.The government provides assistance and training for farmers in transient areas to expedite the Food Estate program.
So far, the Food Estate Program that has been running well in these two villages is the rice plant.Field Extension Officers (PPL) suggest various other plants be planted in the yard.In fact, land for fruits can also be developed in these two villages.The oil palm plantation is not included in the program because the main focus is food.Agriculture in the Gadabung Village area is well established and has become the center of agriculture.The rice fields in this village are relatively fertile, so the crops are also productive.8,00 1,49% Source: Regional Government of Pulang Pisau Regency On the other hand, farmers resources also have skills and are very experienced.Initially, one hectare of rice fields can be planted twice a year.The plan will be increased to three times a year.However, in reality, production decreased after opening a new land area of 1000 hectares.This was due to a request from the central government for the planting season, which should have been in October, to be carried out in September so it could be planted three times.
Agricultural extension workers realize that no program runs orderly and safely; there will be dynamics in assisting.For example, agricultural assistance has decreased in value; there has been an expansion to increase planting land by 1 to 2 times for new areas.Initially, the food estate program was assisted with complete facilities, but due to the pandemic, assistance has decreased.In Gadabung Village, there is guidance on a food crop program in the food estate; there are many farmer empowerment programs; and there have been three harvests during the food estate program.There are demands from the central government to plant rice and harvest it three times a year, requiring farmers to organize agricultural land management.However, some farmers think this will damage the soil in agricultural land areas because the land is "forced" to produce more than two crops in a year.
Furthermore, in Gadabung Village, according to local farmers, 14 farmer groups have formed cooperatives at the sub-district level.After that, new members join, and each member must deposit a capital fund of 1000 rupiah per member per week.When there is a food estate program, it is planned that 10 billion rupiahs will assist the cooperative and later be on behalf of individual farmers and farmer groups.In Gadabung Village, especially in the Pandih Batu area, there has not been or the promised aid fund of 200 million rupiahs has yet to be distributed for land development.The government has also promised assistance with land clearing so that small farmers can save on production costs.The harvest is planned to be bought by the farmer corporations, milled, and cooperated with by BUMN.There is even an offer to make the cooperative a Limited company, or PT.However, this plan has not been realized due to the high management costs and lack of initiation from the central and regional governments.
The biggest problem for farmers is not the production of agricultural products but how and where they are distributed.It is hoped that the government's initiative regarding the efficiency of the distribution chain process will make it easier for farmers to distribute agricultural products, even though it is still in the planning stage.According to the farmers, selling their crops to the Logistics Agency, or Bulog, is detrimental because the purchase price is below the market price of 3,500 rupiah per kilo.In contrast, the price of grain in the market reaches 4200 to 4800 rupiahs per kilogram.

The Resource Abundance Curse
The ongoing food estate in Kapuas and Pulang Pisau districts is still ongoing.However, there are still many problems to be solved.One of the problems is the need for better government assistance management in the community.One of them is land clearing assistance for residents, which is not well distributed, so there is a need for demands for land clearing assistance to make it more transparent.According to Sachs and Werner, improper management of natural resources can result in ecological damage and the collapse of citizens' trust in the government.This distrust hampers the implementation of policies, and the community may need to run the program properly [23].
Monitoring and sustainability of the food estate program that could be going better make farmers confused when facing the harvest season, whether the harvest remains a national program or is the result of each farmer's harvest.This issue must be straightened out to clarify the implementation of programs that should benefit the community and the state.In order to prevent people from feeling disadvantageed by the existence of a national program, legal protection and appropriate social policies are necessary.Sachs and Werner also explained the importance of law enforcement for anyone who harms state policies on managing natural resources for the community because the abundance of natural resources cannot be properly enjoyed without law enforcement.
Furthermore, what is important to highlight is the ecological damage felt in Gadabung Village after the harvesting policy had to be done three times in one year.This is detrimental to farmers because there is a decrease in harvest [24].On the other hand, there is a rat infestation because there is no land restoration due to being forced to achieve the set harvest target.This coercion will have fatal consequences for farming communities that are used to harvesting twice a year.In Sachs and Werner's opinion, this action also results in bad environmental losses because there is no good environmental management.
The environment is exploited to meet the target market without recovery, so it decreases in quality.This condition impacts the surrounding humans, who feel the bad consequences of failing to handle the environment.An over-exploited environment has a direct impact on humans: decreased crop yields, damage to soil quality, decreased water quality, lack of supporting resources for humans as a result of main resources being damaged, reduced income for local communities, lack of balance and ecological strength for human carrying capacity, as well as threats or calamities from nature that could not have been avoided.
The decline in agricultural output resulted in declining incomes.On the other hand, farmers' expenses have increased due to the use of pesticides to eradicate pests.As a result, farmers with very little capital will be vulnerable to bankruptcy.The government has not anticipated this because it only focuses on increasing agricultural output and has yet to see the worst potential resulting from its policies.Finally, farmers who suffer from policies do not consider the negative impacts and shortcomings of the program.
The negative impact of the food estate implies the government's inability to anticipate disasters that occur due to its policies.This is similar to the green revolution that existed in the 1970s, which damaged land due to the modernization of agricultural land using modern tools.When the farmers first came to Pulang Pisau District, they used simple and non-machine tools to clear the land, but the results were equal to the use of machines.They also do not require large amounts of capital to cultivate the land because they utilize the available resources.
The Food Estate Program has also resulted in farmers' dependence on aid and government policies.At first, the farmers needed to think about the presence or absence of a program from the central or regional government.Farmers can work the land without coercion, reward, or pressure.For farmers at that time, cultivating the land was like taking care of the house every day.The agricultural produce obtained is not to accumulate profits but for daily living (subsistence).However, when government programs started in the late 1980s during the era of food estates, they produced false hopes for farmers.Every time the government, such as the Regent or Regional Head, comes to the village, they promise farmers to rejuvenate farming tools and educate them on cultivating agricultural land more effectively.
The new program indicates that there will be a lot of incoming capital and machine assistance available for farmers.Farmers are increasingly hoping for capital and technology.During counseling by the relevant agricultural service, farmers were given promises to rejuvenate agriculture with capital, assistance, and technology.However, every time there is a change in regional or state leadership, policies also change.The assistance that was previously given was suddenly stopped without any explanation.Terminating this assistance is detrimental to farmers who are used to the patterns created by previous policies.Furthermore, in the end, the farmers always rely on each successive program.
According to Dos Santos, this condition is a dependence created by the market for lower-class society.The state has indirectly provided addictive conditions for the interests and benefits of the state alone without questioning the community as one of the development actors.The assistance program was only given at the beginning, but since the end of 2021, it has been stopped due to pandemic reasons.Farmers who were previously accustomed to assistance and being assisted finally had to work hard to maximize agricultural output.
According to Baran, the state has created stunting for society because the state has allowed society to fall into a capitalistic system, namely optimizing production results without being accompanied by justice for farmers.Government policies only focus on productivity without looking at the bad side of the food system.Even though the food estate resulted in ecological damage and losses for the farming community in Gadabung, Farmers experience ambiguity due to the ambiguity of the food estate program, which only asks farmers to increase yields.However, after the second year, there is no further assistance to increase farmers' productivity.

Conclusion
Implementing the food estate program in Gadabung Village and, in general, in two districts, namely Pulang Pisau and Kapuas in Central Kalimantan, promises bright prospects for Indonesian agriculture.The guarantee of food security in the future and the involvement of farmers as the main actors in optimizing agricultural land in food estates have become magnets for farmers to be optimistic about pursuing agriculture.The assistance provided is considered a form of central and regional government efforts in handling agricultural problems and increasing agricultural yields.However, problems still need to be fixed so that they do not become a trap for farmers, particularly by improving aid management.In addition, it is necessary to eliminate farmers' dependence on government assistance.Apart from that, there must be resolute efforts to improve agricultural security in food estate lands so the government does not stunt farmers from increasing agricultural yields in new lands.The research results show that targeting the number of harvests to be three times within a year is not a solution but a fatal blunder.This condition is because the government is too imposing and even ignores farmers when studying and managing land according to agricultural characteristics in the food estate area.Farmers feel compelled to cultivate more than their land and resources allow.It is destructive for humans, ecology, and the environment.

Figure 1 :Figure 2 :
Figure 1: The Field of Food Estate in Blanti Siam District

Table 1 .
The Harvest Amount in Pulang Pisau Region