Book launch - The Paradox of Agrarian Change: Food Security and the Politics of Social Protection in Indonesia
Edited by: John F. McCarthy, Andrew McWilliam and Gerben Nooteboom
Economic growth in the middle-income countries of Southeast Asia over the last few decades is rightly hailed for reducing poverty. Indonesia is a prime example. But while poverty has declined in Indonesia, one of its worst impacts—nutritional insecurity—remains high, particularly in rural areas. Patterns of food poverty persist across Indonesia, despite a fall in poverty rates. What explains this troubling paradox? How does it relate to Indonesia’s enthusiastic embrace of the 'entitlements revolution', the use of direct cash transfers as a tool for reducing poverty and building social inclusion?
This book analyses the nature and social consequences of economic development and agrarian change processes in rural Indonesia in relation to the scope and effectiveness of Indonesia’s social protection programs. The findings are based on a series of extensive 'ground-up' case studies in Indonesian communities in a variety of eco-agrarian settings, seeking to understand the drivers of insecurity and vulnerability at a household level. The results show that while high value farming, diversification and migration may offer a means of economic progress for poor households, economic growth also creates the conditions for increasing inequality, nutritional insecurity and ecological decline.
This is due to the way class, gender and power work in remote local contexts, and the fact that much surplus income is used for enhanced consumption and changing lifestyles. To understand why nutritional insecurity and stunting patterns persist, we need to appreciate how rural change occurs. In many cases there are few signs of the classical structural transformation of the countryside which is considered the most decisive pathway out of rural poverty.
The authors conclude that, while social assistance softens the experience of poverty, they generate targeting problems, produce new patterns of inclusion and exclusion and provoke a contentious politics of distribution. New strategies are required to address food poverty and nutritional insecurity and provide acceptable ways of assisting the poor.
Speakers:
- Professor John McCarthy, ANU
- Professor Andrew McWilliam, Western Sydney University
Discussants:
- Assistant Professor Jeff Neilson, University of Sydney
- Professor Sharon Bessell, ANU
Chair:
- Dr Eve Warburton, Director of the ANU Indonesia Institute
This book launch is co-hosted by the ANU Indonesia Institute and the Resources, Environment and Development (RE&D) at Crawford School of Public Policy.
The event is followed by light refreshments.
Event Speakers
John McCarthy
Professor John McCarthy is a Lecturer and Researcher at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. He is an expert on rural development and resource policy in Southeast Asia. He works on problems of environmental governance, rural development, and food security in the global south.
Andrew McWilliam
Andrew McWilliam is Professor of Anthropology at Western Sydney University. He is a specialist in the anthropology of Insular Southeast Asia with ethnographic interests in eastern Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Northern Australia. His research focuses on multi-dimensional aspects of rural livelihoods and adaptive traditions in the context of globalization and religious faith practice.
Jeff Neilson
Jeff Nielson is Associate Professor of Economic Geography, School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. Jeff's research focuses on economic geography, environmental governance and rural development in Southeast Asia, with specific area expertise on Indonesia.
Sharon Bessell
Sharon Bessell is a Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU. Her research interests revolve around issues of social justice and human rights, focusing on two broad areas. The first is social policy, social justice and the human rights of children. The second is the gendered and generational dimensions of poverty.