An Election Impact Story from Indonesia
By William El Bulo: Lampung Province, Indonesia
If politicians will say what they think is needed to get elected, then many of us around the world are going to hear our politicians make many promises in 2024.
That’s because it’s the biggest election year in history, with national elections in more than 70 countries. About half of humanity—more than 4 billion people—lives in one of these nations.
My country’s balloting is next: On February 14, Indonesians like me will participate in the planet’s largest single-day election. These contests always influence agriculture. Farmers and ranchers must try to shape outcomes by speaking up and telling our stories, so that we have a strong voice in the public policies that govern trade and technology.
The presidential race in the United States in November is of course getting global attention, as it always does. The general election in India will feature hundreds of millions of voters, who will go to the polls in March and April. It probably will break records for mass participation. The second biggest election of the year, in numbers of voters, will be in June for Europe’s parliament. Other major elections will occur in Mexico, South Africa, and, possibly, the United Kingdom, which must hold elections by January 2025.
Broadly speaking, this is good news for the idea of democracy. Yet the stakes are high. Voters will choose between economic engagement with the world or move to self-sufficiency. They’ll pick between candidates who embrace promising technologies and those who reject scientific evidence.
Their selections will affect all of us, no matter where we live. In a global market, what happens in one nation always influences what happens elsewhere. The results can surprise. If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can cause the price of yams to go up in Nigeria, then an election in Sri Lanka or just about anywhere can hit your pocket book or threaten food security.
One thing is certain: International trade keeps food abundant and affordable. We need elected officials who understand the value of resilient trade networks.
I manage two cattle feedlots on the island of Sumatera—and my business depends on the ability to move goods and services across borders.
About 280 million people live in Indonesia, making us the world’s fourth most populous country. We can grow much of our own food and export lots of palm oil, coffee, coconuts, bananas, and more. We also produce plenty of rice, though lately we’ve had to import this staple crop due to El Nino, the cyclical weather pattern.
Our tropical climate creates some deficits in commodities like beef, wheat, and soybean so it necessary to import some food and also crop inputs. I see this reality every day at my feedlots. We get cattle as a raw material from Australia and some feed inputs from others. Our job is to fatten the cattle. Then we sell them to our domestic market, where the demand for beef is huge.
Yet we can’t satisfy it. Politically, Indonesia is still deficit in beef, we need even more than we can produce. The last time Indonesia exported cattle was in the 1980s.
Much of the challenge is regulatory. I’m blocked from acquiring as many cattle as the market needs. My feedlots have a maximum capacity of 35,000 head, but presently we feed only 15,000. The problem is paperwork. The Australian port of Darwin shipped more than 55,000 cattle to Indonesia in December, but none in January—all because of delayed import permits, according to ABC.
In addition, we need more feasible access to grain necessary to feed the cattle and other animals. The feedlot’s supply chain may impact the lives of more than 12,000 people, from port to plate, plantation to feed bank.
These are political matters. They require solutions from elected officials who understand the importance of trade.
Indonesia has three major candidates for the presidency, and they have made a variety of promises and proposals on trade, not all of them favorable or helpful. Yet even politicians who succumb to the temptation of protectionism tend to abandon it when they reach office. As they campaign, they may talk about self-sufficiency, protecting local industries, and limiting imports, but in public office they run into the hard fact that Indonesia’s prosperity depends on economic engagement with the rest of the world.
If more voters appreciated this, candidates would be less likely to pander to them by promoting self-sufficiency economics — and their performance as government officials would improve.
Farmers, ranchers, and everyone involved in agriculture must play a role. It starts with voting, but we should do more: We must speak in favor of food security and the international trade that makes it possible.
When we tell our stories, we may find that voters and the people they elect reward us with the policies that we need.
William El Bulo manages two cattle feedlots in Lampung and North Sunatera Province, Indonesia. In addition to feeding out up to 35,000 head, the feedlot partners with 75 farmers in a breeding operation and they grow corn that is fed to the cattle. William is a member of the Global Farmer Network. This column originates at www.globalfarmernetwork.org
