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48189
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 12:49
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Feature: MIGRANTS BRING BETTER LIFE TO RURAL PEOPLE IN BENGKULU By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Feb 27 (ANTARA) - Like it or not, the presence of Javanese, Padangnese and Bataknese migrants in some villages and districts in Bengkulu province has changed the life of the people in this region.
Javanese ethnic groups who have been living in the province under the government's program for years, Padangnese and Bataknese migrants who moved to this province by their own means without government financial support and to set up small businesses in addition to clearing some land for farming activities along with Javanese migrants, have significantly changed the perspectives of many Indonesians on the condition of majority rural residents in Bengkulu.
In the mind of many Indonesians, villagers are often associated to poverty, low income, dependence on nature and ignorance. People living in urban areas, on the other hand, are often linked to professionalism, hard work, hectic work and prosperity.
In fact, the perception on the life of rural people in Java and villages in the eastern regions of Indonesia which are always living in poverty, turned out to be different from that on the life of rural people in Bengkulu province.
Daryo, a Javanese migrant who has been living for 30 years in Muko-muko district about 300 km from Bengkulu city and has over 20 hectares of oil palm oil estates, said his life depends on oil palm fruits which he harvested every month.
Recalling the condition of his family when he, his sister and his parents set foot on the land of Muko-muko district, Daryo said some areas of Muko-muko district were still unthouched by human hand. His father, Parmin, was a worker of a nucleous estate plantation company.
His father received only two hectares of land from the government under a transmigration program to be cultivated with oil palm trees. Unfortunately, 18 years ago the price of oil palm fruits was not satisfactory, so Daryo said he had no intention to develop oil palm trees.
When his parents left Purworejo in Java under a government program and lived in a small cottage in Muko-muko, Bengkulu province, Daryo said he was nine years old. But when he grew up to 17 years, he decided to clear 10 hectares of land in the forest.
He grew rubber trees on a five hectares of land and cultivated oil palm trees on another five hectares of land. After five years, it turned out that growing oil palm trees was more promising, although prices continued to rise.
Realizing that growing oil palm trees was more profitable, Daryo bought another five hectares of land near the border with West Sumatra and also clearing another ten hectares of forest area for growing palm oil trees near his previous rubber trees farmland, about 7 km from Muko-muko city.
"My patience and hard work to develop oilpalm trees also inspired many local indigenous people to follow suit by growing oil palm trees on their own land in 1995," Daryo told Antara while touring the province of Bengkulu last week.
"No wonder, what we can see from the border area with West Sumatra to Bengkulu city in a distance of over 300 km are only oil palm trees everywhere along the street," he said, adding however, Padangnese traders often capitalized on this opportunity by buying the palm oil fruits from the farmers in Bengkulu province and brought to West Sumatra to be further processed into cooking oil, soap and other products.
Sharing opinion with Daryo that his oil palm fruits bought by Padangnese traders was also confirmed by Sihombing, another farmer from North Sumatra who moved to Bengkulu province in 1982 and now was in possession of oil palm trees on a 40 hectare farmland in Mekar Jaya village, Penaria sub district, North Bengkulu.
"I moved to this village with members of my family in 1982. At the beginning, I set up a small tyre repair kiosk near the street selling daily needs," Sihombing said.
"In 1983, I returned to Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, again to sell a 500 m2 land inherited from my farther," he said, adding that he built a better house in Bengkulu province and the rest of the money was used to buy 10 hectares of land near the forest which was then cultivated with oil palm trees.
After five years, Sihombing said he began to enjoy the profit of his hard work by purchasing another plot of land for oil palm tree cultivation. "The money I get from the monthly harvest of my oil palm trees is deposited in a bank and then after two or three years, I bought another plot of land for oil palm tree cultivation."
"Sometimes, I also used bank credits to buy more land for oil palm tree cultivation, so no wonder within only 15 years I have over 40 hectares of land of oil palm trees," he said.
Sihombing said that the yields of his and were purchased by Padangnese traders who know much on how to approach the farmers with a smile and high prices.
According to Sihombing, he sold Rp1,020 per kilo of palm oil fruits to PT. Agricinal, a nucleous estate plantation which also buy palm oil fruit from the farmers. But Padangnese traders could buy at a price of about Rp1,150 or even Rp1,200 per kilo.
Either Daryo or Sihombing said that a hectare of land could produce about two and three tons of palm oil fruits with a net income of about Rp 1.4 million per hectare, which changed their life in the village.
In the meantime, Darwis, a Padangnese trader who often buy oil palm fruits from the farmers in Bengkulu said that the fruits were transported to some factories in Padang and other cities in some districts of West Sumatra to be further processed into cooking oil and other products.
"I like to buy palm oil fruits in Bengkulu, as many of the palm oil trees farmland belong to some individuals or the people in general. Only a small portion of the nucleous estate plantation is owned by certain companies, while the biggest portion is in the hand of people," he said.
"This is actually a good opportunity, as I can persuade the people to sell their palm oil fruit to me with little bit higher prices," said Darwis who admitted to also have 50 hectares of land which are grown with palm oil trees.
Almost all Padangnese traders who bought palm oil fruits from the farmers had their palm oil trees farmland in Bengkulu province.
According to Darwis, at least the local people in Bengkulu have three to five hectares of land which were then cultivated with palm oil trees. Some of them even had more than five hectare of farmland.
In the meantime, Muko-muko district head Ichwan Yunus said the condition of people living in his district has changed drastically. Palm oil and rubber trees are regarded as a miracle which has improved their social welfare.
Now, migrants who are living in Bengkulu can now enjoy the fruit of their hard work in cultivating their farmland and trading activity, thus changing the picture of Bengkulu people's prosperity.
The farmers in Muko-Muko often go to their farmland by motorcycle and many of them have their own cars to transport their harvest to certain destinations. Many of their children continue their studies at high schools and universities in Padang and Bengkulu or even in Jakarta, as they are able to support the living and educational costs of their children in big cities.
"Some of the farmers' children continue their studies abroad such as in Australia and Malaysia under the financial support of their families," he said.
"More surprising, each house in the village in Muko-muko district, is provided with parabola antennas," Ichwan said adding he should continue to improve social welfare of the people in his district by encouraging them to develop their land by growing trees that may bring a better life in the future.***4***
(T. E002/A/H-NG/B003).
Javanese ethnic groups who have been living in the province under the government's program for years, Padangnese and Bataknese migrants who moved to this province by their own means without government financial support and to set up small businesses in addition to clearing some land for farming activities along with Javanese migrants, have significantly changed the perspectives of many Indonesians on the condition of majority rural residents in Bengkulu.
In the mind of many Indonesians, villagers are often associated to poverty, low income, dependence on nature and ignorance. People living in urban areas, on the other hand, are often linked to professionalism, hard work, hectic work and prosperity.
In fact, the perception on the life of rural people in Java and villages in the eastern regions of Indonesia which are always living in poverty, turned out to be different from that on the life of rural people in Bengkulu province.
Daryo, a Javanese migrant who has been living for 30 years in Muko-muko district about 300 km from Bengkulu city and has over 20 hectares of oil palm oil estates, said his life depends on oil palm fruits which he harvested every month.
Recalling the condition of his family when he, his sister and his parents set foot on the land of Muko-muko district, Daryo said some areas of Muko-muko district were still unthouched by human hand. His father, Parmin, was a worker of a nucleous estate plantation company.
His father received only two hectares of land from the government under a transmigration program to be cultivated with oil palm trees. Unfortunately, 18 years ago the price of oil palm fruits was not satisfactory, so Daryo said he had no intention to develop oil palm trees.
When his parents left Purworejo in Java under a government program and lived in a small cottage in Muko-muko, Bengkulu province, Daryo said he was nine years old. But when he grew up to 17 years, he decided to clear 10 hectares of land in the forest.
He grew rubber trees on a five hectares of land and cultivated oil palm trees on another five hectares of land. After five years, it turned out that growing oil palm trees was more promising, although prices continued to rise.
Realizing that growing oil palm trees was more profitable, Daryo bought another five hectares of land near the border with West Sumatra and also clearing another ten hectares of forest area for growing palm oil trees near his previous rubber trees farmland, about 7 km from Muko-muko city.
"My patience and hard work to develop oilpalm trees also inspired many local indigenous people to follow suit by growing oil palm trees on their own land in 1995," Daryo told Antara while touring the province of Bengkulu last week.
"No wonder, what we can see from the border area with West Sumatra to Bengkulu city in a distance of over 300 km are only oil palm trees everywhere along the street," he said, adding however, Padangnese traders often capitalized on this opportunity by buying the palm oil fruits from the farmers in Bengkulu province and brought to West Sumatra to be further processed into cooking oil, soap and other products.
Sharing opinion with Daryo that his oil palm fruits bought by Padangnese traders was also confirmed by Sihombing, another farmer from North Sumatra who moved to Bengkulu province in 1982 and now was in possession of oil palm trees on a 40 hectare farmland in Mekar Jaya village, Penaria sub district, North Bengkulu.
"I moved to this village with members of my family in 1982. At the beginning, I set up a small tyre repair kiosk near the street selling daily needs," Sihombing said.
"In 1983, I returned to Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, again to sell a 500 m2 land inherited from my farther," he said, adding that he built a better house in Bengkulu province and the rest of the money was used to buy 10 hectares of land near the forest which was then cultivated with oil palm trees.
After five years, Sihombing said he began to enjoy the profit of his hard work by purchasing another plot of land for oil palm tree cultivation. "The money I get from the monthly harvest of my oil palm trees is deposited in a bank and then after two or three years, I bought another plot of land for oil palm tree cultivation."
"Sometimes, I also used bank credits to buy more land for oil palm tree cultivation, so no wonder within only 15 years I have over 40 hectares of land of oil palm trees," he said.
Sihombing said that the yields of his and were purchased by Padangnese traders who know much on how to approach the farmers with a smile and high prices.
According to Sihombing, he sold Rp1,020 per kilo of palm oil fruits to PT. Agricinal, a nucleous estate plantation which also buy palm oil fruit from the farmers. But Padangnese traders could buy at a price of about Rp1,150 or even Rp1,200 per kilo.
Either Daryo or Sihombing said that a hectare of land could produce about two and three tons of palm oil fruits with a net income of about Rp 1.4 million per hectare, which changed their life in the village.
In the meantime, Darwis, a Padangnese trader who often buy oil palm fruits from the farmers in Bengkulu said that the fruits were transported to some factories in Padang and other cities in some districts of West Sumatra to be further processed into cooking oil and other products.
"I like to buy palm oil fruits in Bengkulu, as many of the palm oil trees farmland belong to some individuals or the people in general. Only a small portion of the nucleous estate plantation is owned by certain companies, while the biggest portion is in the hand of people," he said.
"This is actually a good opportunity, as I can persuade the people to sell their palm oil fruit to me with little bit higher prices," said Darwis who admitted to also have 50 hectares of land which are grown with palm oil trees.
Almost all Padangnese traders who bought palm oil fruits from the farmers had their palm oil trees farmland in Bengkulu province.
According to Darwis, at least the local people in Bengkulu have three to five hectares of land which were then cultivated with palm oil trees. Some of them even had more than five hectare of farmland.
In the meantime, Muko-muko district head Ichwan Yunus said the condition of people living in his district has changed drastically. Palm oil and rubber trees are regarded as a miracle which has improved their social welfare.
Now, migrants who are living in Bengkulu can now enjoy the fruit of their hard work in cultivating their farmland and trading activity, thus changing the picture of Bengkulu people's prosperity.
The farmers in Muko-Muko often go to their farmland by motorcycle and many of them have their own cars to transport their harvest to certain destinations. Many of their children continue their studies at high schools and universities in Padang and Bengkulu or even in Jakarta, as they are able to support the living and educational costs of their children in big cities.
"Some of the farmers' children continue their studies abroad such as in Australia and Malaysia under the financial support of their families," he said.
"More surprising, each house in the village in Muko-muko district, is provided with parabola antennas," Ichwan said adding he should continue to improve social welfare of the people in his district by encouraging them to develop their land by growing trees that may bring a better life in the future.***4***
(T. E002/A/H-NG/B003).
