Although improving the availability of crops to the majority of people working in other sectors, this transformation is affecting the agricultural sector. It did not eliminate unbalanced and discriminatory market structures and it lowered the costs of commodities, thereby forcing market-oriented farmers to be worse off than subsistence farmers, who are more dependent on environmental conditions.

A strategy to develop sustainable development is a shift toward synergizing the different goals of protecting crops, safeguarding income and developing sustainable agriculture. They should be incorporated in national development goals and agricultural promotion efforts.

First of all, the manufacture of chemical fertilizers and mechanized agriculture as endorsed during the Green Revolution, at least for the short term and the mid term, gave significant results. At the same time it had serious ecological effects, such as the loss of diversity, decreased soil quality and salinization of soils due to irrigation and the decline in soil moisture. It also had social repercussions, such as the marginalization of farmers living around modern factories.

The development of staple foods in many developing countries has shown that significant increase in production can only be achieved by producing fertilizers and seeds in increasingly large quantities over time.

The experience so far has not yet demonstrated a means to ensure food security for the constantly rising populations in developing countries. This is unlike the shift in consumer behaviors witnessed in industrial countries where more and more consumers are turning to vegetables and subsequently shifting from animal husbandry to agriculture.

The conclusion to be drawn from this new trend is that a very important factor in increasing agricultural productivity lies in optimizing farming that is conditional on natural circumstances and the demand for commodities, like the dependence on milk and vegetables in urban areas.

Second, more and more farmers are dependent on money to fulfill their needs no matter how low the living standards of farmers. There is simply never enough for self-subsistence.

This is very similar to the workings of national and global markets. Exports in principle are conditional on import commodity funds. Production oriented toward exports will only be profitable when revenues are high and stable in comparison to domestic production.

In the majority of rural areas in developing countries hunger cannot be alleviated by an increase in the production of foodstuffs, but rather by increasing people’s revenues, while also providing basic goods at affordable prices.

Third, the assumption that diversification of basic goods is the most environmentally friendly means of agricultural production does not always prove true. For example, the planting of tea and coffee on hill slopes prone to erosion is more environmentally friendly than planting seasonal crops.

The agriculture goals of the three dimensions listed above can be expanded upon. Another thing that is often assumed without question is that subsistence crops are the best means of ensuring food security for the entire nation. What one needs to pay close attention to is the fact that dependence is by no means diminished when seeds, chemical fertilizers and equipment are imported for such production.

On the other hand, agricultural policy oriented towards exports by supporting large-scale producers will eventually lead to an imbalance in revenue and as such will impede access by poor citizens to basic needs.

The development of sustainable agriculture requires a reformulation of the recipe applied to date, whether it involves a modernization policy through such programs like the Green Revolution, or alternative solutions to increase subsistence production, self-supporting food policies as well as anti-export campaigns. These improvements need to be ecologically, economically and socially appropriate.

Sustainable agriculture is very dependent on a rural infrastructure that is integrated both regionally and nationally. In accordance with this, several of the following areas play an important role in ensuring such integration.

First, it is the owners’ and producers’ responsibility to distribute revenue.

Second, institutions must secure and determine conditionalities in the equalizing process that help poor farmers and landless farmers by marketing and providing access to credit, agricultural advice and raising the negotiating power of farmers politically.

Third, physical and social infrastructure such as health services, education, transportation and communications should be provided.

Finally, existing agro-industrial economic structures need to be improved as does the availability of employment outside the agricultural sector.

In general, sustainable agriculture must be considered on the condition that a sociocultural transformation ensues that develops traditional knowledge, improves understanding of development and introduces new respect for natural conditions and limitations.

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The Jakarta Post, Ivan A Hadar