Food sovereignty is one of the central issues that continues to be debated in various spheres, including in the political realm. As an agrarian country with a large population, Indonesia is faced with complex challenges in ensuring food availability for its people. One of the policies that is in the spotlight is projects food estate. This policy was initiated as a response to the food crisis that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the project received criticism because it was deemed unable to provide concrete solutions for the community.
The project, which was proposed as a response to the issue of food sovereignty, is considered to have not provided direct benefits to the community. In the records of the Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in 2021, the project food estate which is being promoted by the government has problems such as legal aspects, community participation, and the potential to repeat the failure of the food self-sufficiency project in the New Order era in Kalimantan. Apart from Walhi, Greenpeace also explained that this project actually caused conflict with indigenous or local communities.
However, regardless of the pros and cons of government policies related to food, the question that needs to be asked is whether these policies can answer the issue of food sovereignty for the community. This question is important to ask because in terms of types of food and food supply practices in Indonesian society are very diverse. Especially those in indigenous communities. Ahmad Arif in his book Indigenous Peoples and Food Sovereignty, shows the diverse practices and types of food that exist among indigenous communities in Indonesia. Some indigenous communities in Indonesia still fulfill their food needs by hunting, gathering and farming. Likewise with the type of food they need.
In some cases, food policies often ignore the socio-ecological and cultural context of a society. Uniformizing food types and how to meet food needs ultimately becomes a problem, especially in indigenous communities. For example, the uniformization of rice as the main food and also agriculture as a model ultimately creates dependency in several communities. Some people who are not used to agricultural patterns, coupled with environmental conditions that do not support this agricultural pattern, ultimately create a food crisis in society.
In this context, studies of indigenous communities, such as the Talang Mamak community in Jambi Province, are important. Indigenous communities often have local practices and knowledge that are relevant to meeting their food needs. For example, activities baumah carried out by the Talang Mamak community shows that there is a system that has proven to be long-lasting in maintaining their food security.
The Talang Mamak indigenous community is a community that is very dependent on forests and nature for its life. They use the forest for their survival. The relationship built by the Talang Mamak community with nature is manifested in sharing various activities including customs and traditions. One of them is a traditional activity called baumah.
However, during its development, the Talang Mamak community itself began to experience several problems related to management rights and utilization of forest products. In a research report conducted by Mangara Silalahi entitled Prospects for Resource Utilization, Social Organization, and Patterns of Social Relations in Talang Mamak (1998) explained that the Talang Mamak community was under pressure to access their forest management area because of the presence of PT Dalek Hutani Esa.
This restriction is due to the Forest Concession Rights (HPH) policy. Apart from that, in the notes of Sukmareni and Herma Yulis in 22 Years of Warsi with the Community (2013) HPH policies and also concession permits for restoration companies trigger conflicts with indigenous communities because of restrictions related to knowledge, access and use of forests. This problem is closely related to the food problems faced by the Talang Mamak community.
Other problems also arise when traditional activities such as baumah considered illegal or environmentally damaging by outside parties. In this case, it is important to understand the local paradigms and knowledge of indigenous peoples, which are often rooted in the connection between humans and nature. This paradigm emphasizes the importance of treating nature as a subject that has an emotional and spiritual connection with humans.
Technically, activities baumah This is done in several stages, such as slashing (clearing thickets), felling (to clear open land), and burning (to eliminate pests). The Talang Mamak people also believe that by burning the quality of the land will be more fertile. The main reason the Talang Mamak community chooses burning to clear land is that it is economically cheaper. Of course, people who are not directly involved or who are outside Talang Mamak feel that this activity will be ecologically damaging.
Bukhori and Mardan explained that the procession opened land for baumah not done haphazardly. For example, the burning process. Bukhori explained that their ancestors had previously used this method. There has never been a massive forest fire due to activities baumah. There are many aspects to consider including wind direction. But ritually, they believe, if the process baumah involving ancestors, then the process of these activities can take place without harming humans and nature.
In fact, in the context of the Talang Mamak indigenous community, baumah not just an economic activity. But it is also a means of maintaining relationships with ancestors and nature. The Talang Mamak people treat rice as a living subject. Also, process baumah carried out with great care and trust in the support of ancestors.
Research into practice baumah shows that this activity not only produces rice, but also other crops such as cassava and vegetables. Therefore, baumah is an innovative model in maintaining local food security that deserves further consideration.
The Talang Mamak people admit that in one harvest, the paddy or rice they plant can last 1-2 years for them to consume. Extraordinarily, the rice consumed for 1-2 years is produced from approximately only 1 hectare of land. It is inversely proportional if we compare forest land openings for projects food estate.
Paradigmatically, the Talang Mamak community actually has interesting things regarding traditions baumah the. The Talang Mamak people themselves believe that the rice they plant is women. Society treats rice in an equal relationship. They believe that rice can also feel, like humans. These relationships can be understood in the framework of relationships between subjects and each other.
Samsul Maarif in Indigenous Religion Paradigm: Re-interpreting Religious Practice of Indigeneous (2019) explained that in indigenous communities' practices related to nature, they build relationships inter-personal/inter-subjective. From these relationships, indigenous peoples build and practice their religion.
These ideas and paradigms place a strong emphasis on connectedness. The connectedness in question is the connectedness of all creatures on earth, whether human or non-human. Such a paradigm is actually quite helpful for understanding how indigenous peoples position their relationships with other creatures, including in this case rice (nature).
The significance of this relationship is something that the outside community often fails to understand. Some practices of indigenous peoples were ultimately deemed unscientific and not worth preserving. Even though it's an activity baumah It is important to review this, especially to answer the food and economic problems of the Talang Mamak community. The prohibitions and restrictions that the Talang Mamak community often faces ultimately leave them with a dilemma. Do baumah and are considered to be going against the rules or not doing so but have to face difficulties up to the food crisis.
From the explanation above, the author concludes that prohibitions and restrictions on traditional practices or activities of indigenous peoples regarding the use of nature are actually a form of our failure to understand their way of life. It is important to understand the paradigm used by indigenous peoples to respect their rights. As explained by Aileen Moreton-Robinson in her writing relationality: a key presupposition of an Indigenous social research paradigm (2017), the key to understanding indigenous communities is relationality-interconnectedness (connectedness) of all beings.
Paradigms are actually important and significant for nature and humans themselves. The implication of this paradigm is respect for nature and dismantling the hierarchical relationship between nature and humans.
Therefore, in order to build inclusive and sustainable policies, it is important for the government and related parties to understand and respect the local knowledge and practices of indigenous communities. This will ensure that the policies adopted are not only effective in responding to food challenges, but are also socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. In this way, we can move towards true food sovereignty, which strengthens the well-being and sovereignty of society as a whole.
*This article was written by: Miftha Khalil Muflih_CRCS UGM
