Gadingsari Village in Sanden sub-district, Bantul Regency, is a rice producing village. Ironically, farmers in that area still have to buy rice now. “It is similar to the condition of our country. Although Indonesia is one of the main producers in the world, almost every year we have to face food supply problem,†said Diana Kusumawijaya, a researcher from Center for Rural and Regional Studies, UGM, Friday (12/2).
According to Diana, the earthquake on 27 May 2006 also contributed to the change and development of rural people in Bantul. The economic condition of the people there has not fully recovered, particularly in household economy. This absolutely affected the quality of food.
“Even though the earthquake happened 3.5 years ago, the impact is still felt. The fall of industrial sector has caused several people who previously got additional income as temporary workers to lose their income from that source,†she said on UGM campus when discussing a book entitled “Food Resilience in Various Areas of Yogyakarta Special Provinceâ€. Besides external change such as earthquakes, the development of modern communication has also changed the rural into modern lifestyle.
Generally, Diana’s research showed that rice production in Gadingsari can actually fulfill people’s need. However, there are still several people buying rice, because they want to sell the harvest crops in exchange for something else such as covering household expenses, social fund, credit payment, etc.
As a researcher, Diana believes that there is income from other sources outside agriculture. However, that is still not optimal. Global recession also became an obstacle for craft industry in Bantul.
A 116 page book published by the Center for Rural and Regional Studies presented several other interesting topics, such as â€Food Independent Village: Leader of National Food Resilienceâ€, “Consumptiveness and Food Resilience of Sub-urban Householdsâ€, “Utilization of South Beach Areas for Food Resilience among People in Coastal Areas" and "Wood for Clean Water."