Farmer Resistancy

Local farmers’ opposition to agricultural reform during the Japanese occupation was due to several reasons. First, the ‘Rice Handover Policy’ was supported by military domination. Farmers were not allowed to store excess grain and were obliged to sell the surplus to the rice mills. The Office of Food Supply (Syokuryō Kanri Zimusho) was in control as private rice trading was prohibited and all residencies had to be self-sufficient. This policy made Indonesian farmers miserable and spurred farmers’ uprisings in several regions across Indonesia. 

Second, through their Indonesian ‘agricultural instructors’, the Japanese officials prescribed plowing land before its irrigation, which was an uncommon practice in Indonesia. They ordered the restriction of the number of rice varieties and imposed strict regulation of planting time. They forbade mixed cropping of more than two crops and made labor-intensive Japanese production techniques compulsory. Differences in farming methods were not discerned by Japan, which only focused on the development of science and technology in agricultural reform.

“The scope of life for the people of Indramayu was shrinking; they lacked food and clothing. Horrific sights filled the street, skeletons strewn about, and people wore burlap sacks as everyday clothing. Apart from the 200 grams of produce for one person to eat per day and 20 kg of seeds per hectare, all crops must be handed over to the Japanese.”

This reality provoked a farmers’ uprising in Indramayu. Source : Interview with H. Eddie Soekardi (91), former soldier of the Republic of Indonesia. Interview in Bandung, 07 September 2005. In  Iryana, W. (2017:291)” Protes sosial petani indramayu masa pendudukan Jepang (1942-1945). Patanjala: Journal of Historical and Cultural Research.

Referensi: 
Iryana, W. (2017). Protes sosial petani indramayu masa pendudukan Jepang (1942-1945). Patanjala: Journal of Historical and Cultural Research, 8(3), 285-300.
PROTES SOSIAL PETANI INDRAMAYU MASA PENDUDUKAN JEPANG (1942-1945).pdf