In Bandung, in western Java, the very first SPORA conference took place between 9 and 21 March.  SPORA [1] is a new umbrella organization that brings together various Indonesian farmers’ associations.  This meeting, which carries high hopes for strengthening farming movements, was an exciting event for all participants.

A coalition with incredible ambitions 

Over the last few years, many farmers’ organizations have been started, which aim to promote the right to land access, and which focus their actions on public organization, mobilization and awareness-raising in order to extend rights to everyone.  Following the initiative of SPP, KPA, and PERGERAKAN, the SPORA conference brought together 14 organizations, in order to establish a new strategy for joint action.  The ultimate goal of the meeting was to build the largest coalition ever, so that the government would finally hear them, and to develop a plan for agrarian reform that gives people the opportunity to own the land on which they work.  The conference took place at just the right time, because in April 2007, the Indonesian government will hold a meeting to discuss agrarian problems and to propose a new National Program for Agrarian Reform.
During the 12 days of the SPORA conference, representatives of the 14 organizations were able to share their experiences, to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, and to draw up a report on recent and upcoming actions.  In so doing, the representatives also evaluated the social, economic and political problems they encountered within their movements.  Four priorities were emphasized during this conference: on the one hand, improving the agricultural production of the organizations through training programs to new agricultural techniques/methods; on other strengthening local movements by helping them to build a better internal structure. Then, it is necessary to establish cooperation with the middle class of rural areas in order to bring people together and have a greater impact and also to create a partnership network, conducive to exchange and discussion, between the 14 organizations.

	Attentive, the participants really appreciated the meeting and, when leaving, felt very enthusiastic / © Pergerakan

Pressure on the government makes headway 

According to Hilma Safitri, one of the conference organizers, “All the participants really valued the conference and came out of it overflowing with enthusiasm.”  She added that “this new movement will be a catalyst for the immense social change that Indonesia has needed for so long.”  Following this first meeting, agrarian leaders will meet again in six months to measure progress on their projects and evaluate results, in order to propose new directions.

These meetings are all taking place as a direct response to the Indonesian government’s plan for development which, over the last few years, has involved a policy of land acquisition, in order to sell the land to large private businesses or to use the land for the government’s own profits.  Currently, small farmers own just 13% of the land, while large-scale landowners possess the remaining 87%.  On March 20, in front of the Gran Melia Hotel in Jakarta where the G33 [2] were holding a meeting, hundreds of farmers protested by holding banners that read, “Land is not a good to be sold”—a slogan reaffirming that the planet belongs to the people, and not to governments.
Creating SPORA thus constitutes a large step forward for Indonesian farmers’ movements and puts increased pressure on the government.  This first conference was a red-letter day in the history of the peasant struggle in Indonesia!

Notes :

[1]  Sekolah POlitik untuk Reforma Agraria, (Political institution for agrarian reforms)

[2]  G33 is a group of developing countries, which contains 42 members, including 10 that are also members of the G20 and 28 that are also part of the G90.  It mainly defends the right of developing countries to put up protections against imports.