The Welfare of Villagers Decreases

The face of villages, as the producer of food and export commodities, continues to change. The dependence on food and consumer goods is increasing. However, this has not been accompanied by an increase in income.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Farmers harvest bunches of fresh oil palm fruit on Wednesday (1/8/2018) at Rumah Sumbul village in Sinembah Tanjung Muda Hulu district, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra. Palm oil is the main source of income for the village’s economy. The farm-level price of oil palm fruit is currently around Rp 1,100 per kilogram, down from Rp 1,500 per kilogram.

INDRAMAYU, KOMPAS — The increase in prices of goods and services for villagers is often higher than the income or the prices they receive. This makes the alleviation of poverty in villages more difficult.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS),  rural inflation reached 0.82 percent in July, 2018, higher than the national inflation of 0.28 percent during the month. The increase in food prices was the biggest contributor to rural inflation in July 2018.