Breaking the Snare of Middlemen with Collective Corn Seed Procurement: Sambirejo Truth and Justice Care Forum (FPKKS)

Since 1999, the Sambirejo Truth and Justice Care Forum (FPKKS) has been fighting for agrarian reform for the sake of sovereignty, welfare, and justice for farmers. In 2017, FPKKS joined the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) to strengthen their struggle. FPKKS houses nine Local Farmer Organizations (OTL) with 971 members from Jetis, Musuk, Sambirejo, Sambi, Kadipiro, Dawung, Jambeyan, and Sukorejo Villages in Sambirejo District, Sragen.

FPKKS controls more than 300 hectares of land, used for corn farming which is the main source of livelihood for the Sambirejo community. One harvest produces more than 5 to 6 tons. However, the welfare of corn farmers is still far from the mark. Because many farmers are trapped by middlemen, forced to go into debt to and to buy high-priced seeds from middlemen and sell the harvest at a low price to pay off the debt. Both the price of seeds and the selling price of the harvest are determined unilaterally by the middlemen, usually far from the market price.

With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, FPKKS strengthens corn production and distribution in Sambirejo. FPKKS wants to ensure that farmers have greater control over production facilities and obtain fairness in the distribution chain. In this program, FPKKS builds a collective corn seed procurement system, by working directly with corn seed distributors so that the price of seeds becomes much cheaper.

Middlemen have long been the main intermediaries in the distribution of agricultural products in Sambirejo. They offer loans to farmers to buy seeds, farming needs, or daily necessities with conditions. Farmers repay the debt with their harvest, but the purchase price is determined by the middlemen far below the market price. This creates a cycle of dependency that is difficult to break, causing farmers to continue to be in debt and lose control over their harvest.

This problem is not just a matter of farmers' stomachs, but also reflects structural inequality in the Indonesian agricultural system. The lack of access for small farmers to capital, information, and distribution chains strengthens the position of middlemen as market controllers. A study by LPPM Universitas Gadjah Mada (2021) shows that middlemen control more than 60% of the distribution of agricultural products in rural areas, causing farmers' profits to be much smaller than the selling price in the final market.

Farmer unions and local farmer organizations (OTL) play an important role in building solutions for small farmers trapped in the middleman system. With a collective approach, they have the power to create alternative mechanisms for the production, distribution, and marketing of agricultural products. Organizing farmers in farmer unions or OTLs can strengthen their bargaining position, open access to cheaper resources, and build distribution networks.

This alternative mechanism is what FPKKS has started to build with a collective corn seed procurement system. Corn seeds are distributed directly to member farmers at a lower price than the market. The payment system is also applied after farmers receive results from the sale of corn harvests. Until now, more than one quintal of corn seeds have been purchased and distributed to 160 FPKKS member farmers with a coverage of agricultural land reaching 65 hectares in Block C and D of the OTL Pakis Sukorejo area, Jambeyan Village.

With the payment system, farmers no longer depend on debt to middlemen to obtain seeds. They have more freedom in determining the market for their crops, such as to Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) which offer more market-appropriate prices. Although what FKPPS does is not immediately a panacea for solving various problems, this step helps farmers escape the clutches of middlemen and paves the way for a more sovereign and equitable distribution and production model.