Meneliti masalah petani dan pangan pada tingkat lokal: pengantar studi Kemandirian pangan Akatiga

From 2013 – 2015, researchers from AKATIGA have been studying issues of access to land, food production and employment in 12 rice-producing villages in West Java, Central Java and South Sulawesi. The study is based on a loose idea of ‘kemandirian’ (self-sufficiency), which goes beyond ‘food security’ and includes some but not all the elements of ‘food sovereignty’. It focuses on those who produce food, those who depend on the food production sector for their livelihoods, and those (institutions) which (ought to) function to support small-scale food producers. Research of this type is useful in exposing various powerful ‘myths’ (common assumptions that underlie policies, but do not reflect the realities on the ground). This article provides an overview of the study’s rationale, framework and methods, as an introduction to the four following articles which summarize findings from the study in three areas: access to land and agrarian structure, systems of rice agriculture in relation to social efficiency, and rural youth and agricultural employment.