Regional Discrepancy in Agricultural Development in Indonesia

Agriculture in Indonesia is still an important sector in the economy, while for several outer provinces it constitutes the most important economic activity. However, there exists a wide discrepant in agricultural development between in particular Java/Bali and the eastern part of Indonesia. This is the very central issue which the author intents to capture the attention of policy makers in the field of agricultural development. The most advanced region for agricultural cultivation is highly concentrated on the island of Java, while in many parts of eastern Indonesia agricultural cultivation is still underdeveloped in terms of number of plant varieties, product quality and productivity. And these backward farmers belong to the poor group in the population. This wide discrepant in agricultural development is being demonstrated through a number of tables and personal observations by the author. Soil condition, climate and inputs do of course determine the volume, quality and kind of output, but know-how about agricultural technologies is no less important, and this is lacking in the Eastern regions. Unfortunately, thus far the central as well as the local governments do not put much attention to regional agricultural development. Therefore the government should change this attitude or rather its negligence about the problem, because through education in agricultural technologies and extension services the farmers in the outer regions could improve their agricultural technical know-how, contribute to regional development and hence their income