Javanese Farmers Hit Hardest by the COVID-19 Pandemic

The welfare of farmers in Java was hardest hit during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which has been ongoing since early 2020. This is reflected in the farmer exchange rate index (NTP) in the five Javanese provinces that experienced the largest decline compared to other provinces between January 2020 and June 2021.

Farmers in West Java were the most affected, as evidenced by the NTP in West Java declining by 7.6% due to a 4.81% decrease in the received price index (It) while the paid price index (Ib) increased by 3.23%. This was followed by Banten with a 7.07% decrease in NTP, Yogyakarta with 5.37%, East Java with 4.76%, and Central Java with 4.38%.

Meanwhile, the NTP in West Kalimantan experienced the largest increase of 16.52% because the It increased by 19.3%, while the Ib only increased by 2.2%. West Kalimantan was followed by Bangka Belitung with a 14.47% increase in NTP, Jambi with 12.32%, West Sulawesi with 9.59%, and Bengkulu with 9.51%.

The national average NTP in June 2021 decreased by 0.55% to 103.59 points compared to 104.16 points in January 2020. This decrease was due to the received price index (It) only increasing by 2.13%, while the paid price index (Ib) increased by 2.88% during the same period.

For information, NTP is the ratio of the received price index (It) to the paid price index (Ib) for farmers. NTP is an indicator to assess the ability or purchasing power of farmers in rural areas. NTP also shows the exchange rate of agricultural products with goods and services consumed or used for production costs.