West Papua agriculture industry is believed to have great potential to be developed as a significant producer of agricultural commodities in Eastern Indonesia. Therefore, the government will continue to strive to increase agricultural productivity in all districts in West Papua Province. Find out about the development of the agricultural industry in West Papua below.
Sector Development in West Papua Agriculture Industry
Papua’s agricultural sector lags due to multiple interactions between biophysical factors (land resources), socio-cultural, and techno-economic and political factors. Factors that cause underdevelopment include limited agricultural supporting infrastructure, undeveloped agricultural institutions, and low access of farmers to markets.
On the other hand, West Papua has land resources that have the potential for agricultural development. Based on the Atlas of Indonesian Agricultural Spatial Planning on a scale of 1:1.000.000, out of 9.9 million ha of land area in West Papua Province, an area of 2.7 million ha has potential for agriculture, but only about 0.94 million ha (33%) which has been used as agricultural land.
Agricultural Lands are Very Extensive in the Eastern Indonesian Region
There are 11,000 hectares of corn plants throughout the province and 7 million hectares for food crops and horticulture, so this area is extensive. However, the maximum utilization is only 33 percent.
The President also asked the Ministry of Agriculture and the local, provincial government to maximize the potential of the West Papua agriculture industry and increase its production capacity. The President also invited millennial farmers to continue training to support agricultural sector activities in the province.
Quality of Human Resources in West Papua
The population of West Papua, has a life expectancy that is not much different from the national average, which is 67 years. The average length of schooling has only reached 7.2 years, and > 85 percent of the population is literate in Latin.
Real per capita spending is well below the poverty line of US$1.00 per day, around Rp. 585,000 per year or an average of Rp. 1,600 (US$0.18) per day. Of the total family heads (KK) of West Papuan farmers as many as 181,201 people, who are engaged in food crops (paddy and secondary crops) only about 104,058 people (57%), who cultivate plantation crops are 30,805 people (17%) and in the field of horticultural crops. totaled 46,338 people (26%).
The distribution of PPL in West Papua Province has not been evenly distributed. South Sorong Regency, which has an area of 29,811 km2 and a population of 59,240 people, only has 3 PPLs and 12 farmer groups. Meanwhile, Manokwari Regency, with an area of 14,448 km2 and a population of 166,322 people, has 112 PPLs and 378 farmer groups.
The low class of existing farmer groups is an obstacle to an extension. Of the 962 existing farmer groups, about 84 percent are in the Pre-Beginner and Beginner classes. West Papua does not yet have an Agricultural Extension Training Center (BLPP), so various training for PPLs or farmers are still being carried out at BLPP Jayapura, Manokwari Agricultural Extension College (STPP), or even in North Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.
Agricultural Infrastructure
West Papua agriculture industry has established 14 Irrigation Areas that utilize water from rivers (surface water). Several weirs are still in the planning and development process. Lowland rice production centers still rely on Manokwari and Sorong Regencies for most of their irrigation needs.
The province of West Papua, which has an extensive area, requires road facilities to penetrate areas that are still isolated. Based on data from the BPS for West Papua Province, 3,013,436 roads in 2006 were concentrated in three regencies and one city, namely, Manokwari, Sorong, Fak-Fak, and Sorong Regencies.
Only some districts have land roads connecting one community to another:
- Manokwari Regency-Bintuni Regency,
- Sorong Regency,
- South Sorong Regency, and
- Fak-Fak Regency.
West Papua has 15 airports/airfields and 15 seaports, including one international class port. Four ports have a fast boat service capacity/pelni, while the other 11 ports have the service capacity for pioneer ships.
Wrapping Up
We hope that aquaculture development can increase Indigenous Papuans’ income (OAP). When one community group has demonstrated the success of aquaculture development, and other community groups quickly adopt a similar method.
Then, ecotourism development was carried out in the Arfak Mountains District, Kaimana Regency, and Raja Ampat Regency. The three regencies offer alternative tourism potential that has not been explored to the maximum.
Do not stop there, West Papua agriculture industry development can help OAP income with a minimum level of environmental damage.
