Sugarcane Now No Longer Sweet

Kompas/P Raditya Mahendra Yasa

Workers upload sugarcanes on a truck to be brought to a sugar factory in Megawon village, Jati district, Kudus regency, Central Java, on Sunday (14/5). Sugar production has not met Indonesia’s consumption demand, which is estimated to reach 3.5 million tons.

Various problems have repeatedly knocked sugarcane farmers down. Only a few have survived to return to their fields, with others turning to harvesting rice. Those who stayed had no other choice but to keep their kitchens running. Others left the industry due to uncertainties when sugarcane was no longer “sweet.”

For Suparmin Sulistyo, 48, a resident of Krasakageng village, Sragi district, Pekalongan regency, Central Java, growing sugarcane today is like a suicide. In the last five years, sugarcane farmers suffered losses because their harvests did not come as expected. He switched to growing rice two years ago with the hope of seeing better results.