Food Estate Policy in South Papua as a Solution: A Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to demonstrate how the problematization of the food estate policy in South Papua leads to the provision of solutions that adhere to a specific approach to utilizing information in policy development. Previous studies have examined the implementation of food estate policies in many regions, including South Papua. Likewise, the social and ecological impacts of the policy are considered. However, few have examined the thought processes that inform these policies. This study seeks to fill that gap by examining the discourse underlying the formation of the food estate policy. Using the policy discourse analysis method with the What’s the Problem Representation to be (WPR) approach, this study analyzes how the solution emerges from the problem representation created through the political process that has occurred since the policy was initiated and parses the interests behind the solution formed in the food estate policy in South Papua. The Indonesian government claims that the food estate project in South Papua is a solution to the food crisis and a bulwark of national food security. However, what is considered a solution by the government has been refuted by various parties who see that this policy is a disaster for the community. Instead of solving the problem, food estates have taken away indigenous peoples’ land and the diversity of village livelihoods, damaged forest ecosystems, eliminated biodiversity , and directly contributed to global warming. This study contributes to applying critical thinking in policy studies by exposing the political process of the food estate policy since its proposal as a national strategic project.

Access to Document

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus
• Open Access Version Available

Fingerprint