Rural Life Improvement

Communty Development In Indonesia
A Long Way To Go

Indonesia is a very large archipelago country, in land areas, population, and natural resources. In the hope Indonesia could become a rich welfare country if all aspects can be coordinated properly.
However, unfortunately not like that in this case, low human resources, inequality development between one region to another, inequality of welfare and prosperities, people’s density concerned in the Java island makes Indonesia looks so far from the hope to become a rich welfare country as mentioned above.
Coupled with the monetary crisis that occurring at last 10 years since the turn of New Era regime to the Reformation Era, which makes many obstacles in the national development.
Rural Life Improvement (RLI) is a big concept of solution for the complex problem in Indonesia. Because, it perceived more than 60 percent of Indonesian peoples are poor farmers and fishermen who have the dominant influences of the monetary crisis, and led us to the higher level of poverty and unemployment.
With the shared commitment from the United Nations (UN), to halving the poverty rates based the 2000 until 2015, the Indonesian government is required to do. Many efforts were done by the Indonesian government, Central and Local to reach that target. One of them is RLI (Rural Life Improvement) which applied with many kinds of policies such as poverty eradication, agriculture revitalization, rural development, empowerment of cooperative, micro, small, and medium enterprises, acceleration of infrastructure development, improvement of people’s access to quality education and health, and social protection and welfare.

The scope of the programs and policies are in the areas of :
1. Poverty Eradication
2. Agriculture Revitalization
3. Empowerment of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
4. Rural Development
5. Reducing the Imbalances of Regional Development
6. Improve People’s Access To Quality Education
7. Improve People’s Access To Quality Health
8. Increase of Social Welfare and Protection
9. Accelerate the Infrastructure Development

However, these efforts are not always done smoothly in the implementation because many kinds of obstacles around the programs mentioned above

Transmigration
Indonesia is a very large country which has more than 220 millions peoples, 60 percent of the people works in agriculture sector in rural areas. In density, 60 percent Indonesian peoples located in the Java island that has 7 percent width of Indonesian areas. Coupled with the decreasing quality of agricultural areas because land conversion, declining fertility, low human resources if looked from the rates of education makes the achievement to the social welfare and poverty eradication will not be easily accomplished.
In the other hand, there are very potential natural resources to cultivate in the outside of Java island, but the low rates of the density makes other islands outside Java looks less productive.
To solve these problems, in the Middle Term National Development Plan (RPJMN) 2005-2009 designed many kinds of programs such as improve the infrastructure, quality of health and education, and rural society services.

One of program in Agenda III in RPJMAN 2005-2015 is transmigration. Transmigration is a voluntary movement of peoples from one region to another in Indonesia in order to increase their welfare. In usual, this migration directing to the region with less of density and have potential natural resources but minimally cultivate. In guide-line, transmigration is an effort to increase the welfare rates and reducing the poverty.
Before migration, the voluntary peoples participating the transmigration program are also given some provisions like land cultivating, training and stimulants, education, health, government services, and life needs such as drink water, kerosene, cooking oil, salt fish, and many others. Infrastructure and suprastructure in the transmigration location will be fulfilled first, include provision of the social-cultural condition there.
A transmigration location located in the rural areas with 300 families capacity. 50 percent of it are new-comers and the other are local residents. Each family given 2 hectares of land. Half hectare for house, half hectare for garden, and a hectare for land cultivating.
There are objectives of this program:
1. improve the transmigrants welfare and peoples surrounding areas
2. improve and equal the region development
3. empowerment unity of the nation

With the transmigration program, effort in gender equality to women. This effort thought because the role of women in development in this country is less optimal because social cultural reasons and violence cases to the women and children.

Development Obstacles
After Reformation Era, the polarization of government power was not held in Central Government. With Regional Autonomy, giving the authority to the region to explore and exploite the natural resources in each region. Hope, social welfare in the rural areas will be achieved, because there are got the dominant influences of the crisis
However in the implementation, there are founded many kinds of obstacles which slow the running program, like:
1. inconsistencies policies between Central government and Region
2. weaknesses in preparation of the planning
3. low quality of implementation and weak supervisions
4. weak coordination and no synergy in program within departments
5. low access to capital resources and many conditions to get loan
6. not all government’s policies in economic aspects take side with the poor.

RLI Implementation
In implementation of RLI, there are some aspects influenced, it makes the programs so difficult to do, demography aspect, geography, natural resources, economy, socio-cultural, politic, and security.
Demography aspect is problem of people who concerned in the Java island which in the poor condition. The geographical aspect is, Indonesia contained with 17.499 islands with less connectivity makes population growth become new problem. Natural resources aspect is less control and supervision to the exploration and exploitation in land and water causing illegal logging, mining, fishing which still needs to be eliminated.
Economical aspect is still high the rates of unemployment and poverty and the high level of oil price. Social-cultural is using the traditional method of the farmers and fishermen causing the low productivity to fulfill the needs.
The turn of regime bring the significant impact. Many policies and regulations issued make the other impact in national life. The security aspect especially in the border area which has potential natural resources. Many kind of illegal activities in water and land.

However, in hope, many kinds of obstacles can be eliminated quickly and the development can be achieve although not easily.

Expectation
Expectation in the future poverty eradication which experienced by the people of Indonesia will be accomplished with many kinds of policies and programs with take side to the poor. With trainings, behavior change, increase the skill and education so can increase the productivity and quality.

Sumber: Tugas Mata Kuliah English For Social Science, Sosiologi Fisip UNS, Oleh: MAulana Kurnia Putra