Food Price: Price Hikes, Tighten Your Belt!

Case study from Indonesia by Olenka Priyadarsani, Communication Officer of Oxfam Aceh-Nias

About two weeks ago there was an article in the newspaper about an expectant woman killed herself after murdering her two children using poison. This happened in Deli Serdang, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The suspected motive was economic condition in the family due to price hikes.

Food prices also affect the people of Java Island, the most populated island in the country. In Bogor, West Java, some landless farmers testified about the current living condition due to hikes in food prices.

“The six of us only eat with rice and three pieces of dried fish,” said Marko, a poor farmer in the village of Cibatok, Bogor.  For him, having meal once a day is not extraordinary. Sometimes, he had to go everywhere only to get some cassavas from his neighbours. As a landless farmer, the father of four only received Rp 20,000 a day. “Utmost, I work only 15 days a month. Sometimes I don’t have work at all for two months in a row,” added him. In short, that amount of money is only when he gets lucky. Marko also mentioned that he wouldn’t be able to send his child to school due to his family condition.

 

Another landless farmer in the area, Juli Eka Saputra, also stated his complaint, “Wage is very low while food prices hike. All is not affordable for me.” 

The village secretary, Erik Setiawan, seconded the concern. According to him, many landless farmers in area face the difficulty in purchasing basic needs because of the price hikes.

It can be seen that the fuel hikes affect all group of community – rural and urban. The fuel hikes triggers price hikes of food, such as rice, cooking oil and vegetables. This definitely impact to transportation cost.

 

Some days a go, I had an argument with a becak driver in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province. Normally, the fare from Peunayong to Neusu (where Oxfam Aceh is located) was Rp 7,000. “Ten thousand, fuel price hikes,” said the becak driver. I didn’t want to pay that much. After doing a “walking away” strategy, he called me and agreed on Rp 8,000, with grumbling. Along the way, he drove the becak in full speed. In the intersection, although the traffic light showed red, he didn’t even slowing down. Sometimes, getting cheap fare also means we get cheap value for our life.

The price hikes affect anyone, the rich and the poor. But for vulnerable groups, they have less coping mechanism than the more resourceful. So, for us who are still able to cope with the situation, we must dare to give more!