Food Doesn't Grow on Supermarket Shelves: Protecting Farmers to Ensure Food Security

By: Dian Eka Kusumawati, S.P., M.P.
Lecturer at the Islamic University of Darul ‘Ulum (UNISDA) Lamongan and Doctoral Student in Agricultural Sciences, University of Muhammadiyah Malang

When we buy rice, vegetables, fruit, or other food items at the market, we often only see products ready to be taken home. The price is listed, the goods are available, and the transaction is complete.

We rarely think about the long journey before that food reaches us.

In reality, food does not grow on supermarket shelves.

Food grows in the soil, on farmland that must be cultivated every season. There are farmers who prepare seeds, till the soil, plant, fertilize, manage water needs, control pests and diseases, and wait for the crops to produce.

The entire process requires time, energy, money, knowledge, and, of course, the courage to face risks.

This is where the conversation about food security should begin.

Food Security Is Not Just About Stock

Food security has often been associated solely with the availability of food supplies. When rice stocks are sufficient and production increases, we tend to assume the food issue is resolved.

However, there is another equally important question: who produces that food, and are they still able to continue farming?

Farmers face various forms of uncertainty. One of them comes from weather conditions.

Planting times that were once relatively easier to predict now require increasingly careful attention. Excessive rainfall can cause waterlogged fields and increase the risk of disease outbreaks. Conversely, prolonged drought can lead to water shortages.

In certain conditions, climate change can even cause crops that have been tended for months to fail to produce the expected harvest.

For farmers, crop failure is not just a declining production statistic. Behind it lies the capital invested, the time given, and the energy poured into the work.

When the harvest does not meet expectations, the loss must be borne directly by the farmer.

Production Costs and Price Uncertainty

The next issue is production costs.

Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, labor, land preparation, irrigation, and the harvesting process all require costs. At the same time, agricultural prices are not always stable.

When selling prices drop during the harvest season, farmers' incomes are squeezed. In such conditions, high production is not necessarily directly proportional to the welfare of the farmers.

Therefore, food security cannot be measured solely by how much food is successfully produced.

We also need to see whether these agricultural activities still provide enough economic space for farmers to survive, grow, and continue their business.

This issue becomes even more critical when linked to the regeneration of farmers.

Agriculture requires energy, innovation, and new knowledge. However, if farming is viewed as having no adequate economic prospects, it is certainly not easy to expect the younger generation to choose the agricultural sector as their future.

Protecting the Land Means Protecting Production

Beyond the issues faced by farmers, agricultural land also faces increasing pressure.

Land conversion, declining soil quality, limited water sources, and various environmental issues can reduce the land's ability to produce food sustainably.

Soil should not be viewed merely as a place to plant.

Soil is the main capital in agriculture. If its fertility continues to decline, the land's ability to produce food in the long term will also be disrupted.

Therefore, the use of fertilizers and pesticides needs to be done wisely.

Controlling plant pests does not always have to rely entirely on pesticides. Environmental management, the use of natural enemies, land sanitation, the selection of suitable varieties, and the application of integrated pest management can be part of more sustainable agricultural practices.

Agriculture does not have to choose between productivity and environmental sustainability.

Both need to go hand in hand so that food production can be maintained in the long term.

Local Food as a Strength

Indonesia actually has another major asset in building food security: the diversity of food sources.

Rice is not the only source of carbohydrates owned by the Indonesian people. There are corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, sago, taro, and various local food commodities that have long been consumed by people in various regions.

Unfortunately, some local foods have not received space commensurate with their potential.

Food diversification needs to be continuously encouraged so that the public has more choices of food sources and dependence on a single commodity can be reduced.

From the farmers' side, the development of local food also opens up new economic opportunities.

Commodities that match the character of the local environment can be developed into processed products with higher added value. Thus, strengthening local food is not only related to consumption but can also expand business opportunities and increase community income.

Harvest Is Not the End of the Journey

Work in the food system does not stop when agricultural products leave the field.

After being harvested, food must still go through the processes of collection, storage, transportation, and processing before finally reaching the consumer.

At each of these stages, there is a risk of loss.

Fruit can be damaged during transit. Vegetables can wilt or go unsold. Harvest yields can experience a decline in quality due to improper storage.

These losses are actually not insignificant.

To produce every kilogram of food, farmers have used land, water, fertilizer, labor, capital, and time. When these results are eventually damaged or wasted, the resources used to produce them are also wasted.

Therefore, improving the post-harvest system is an important part of food security.

We do not always have to open or expand land to get more food. Reducing losses means maintaining the food that has actually been successfully produced.

Technology Must Answer Farmers' Needs

Technology also plays an important role in supporting agriculture.

Weather information, cultivation technology, agricultural tools and machinery, irrigation systems, storage techniques, and digital marketing can help make agricultural activities more effective and efficient.

However, technology must be adapted to the real conditions in the field.

Good technology is not merely the most sophisticated technology. Good technology is technology that can be accessed, understood, used, and truly provides benefits to farmers.

Agricultural innovation will be far more meaningful if it is able to solve the problems actually faced by farmers, whether in production, processing, marketing, or adaptation to environmental changes.

Looking Further at Food

Ultimately, food security is a long and interconnected issue.

There is land that must be protected, farmers who need attention, water that must be managed, technology that must be developed, harvests that need to be saved, and consumers who play a role through their food choices.

Therefore, perhaps it is time for us to look at food a little further than just what is available at the market.

Maintaining food security means maintaining the entire chain that keeps food available: protecting the soil, the water, the technology, the distribution channels, the markets, and, no less importantly, ensuring that farmers remain able and willing to farm.

Because food does not grow on supermarket shelves.

It grows from the soil, from the work of farmers, and from a collective decision to keep agriculture alive.