Wendu, Semangga district, Merauke, Papua seems contrast with all the development project that is going on. This area has not had electricity yet. Sago forest was destructed by street building project that goes around Wendu village, makes ways to the empty lands, abandoned by the investors’ companies. MIFEE (Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate) Program aims at developing food plant agriculture and bio fuel broadly in Merauke, in contrary destroys lands and sago forests. In fact, sago forests are the soul of local people. The sacred places of Malind-Anim tribe also get displaced that makes the people worried of conflicts.

Merauke’s regent, government officer , and the investors see this MIFEE program as a good solution on increasing the development and the prosperity in lagging region like Merauke. MIFEE is an idea that came out when the wave of the world’s food crisis happened, made food commodities prices increased. This makes the countries who used to import minimize the import and try to produce food commodities themselves. A lot of developed countries and companies want to invest in potential areas for food plant agriculture and energy. Merauke in Nedherland’s occupation time had been the food producing area for South Pacific through Rice Kumbe-Kurik project. Therefore, this area has been the target of the Government. MIFEE includes private companies (now there are about 36 companies who have invested) and managed as plantation focusing on rice, corn, soy beans, sugar cane, and oil palm. The lands that can be planted amount to 1,283 millon hectares, a very potential amount. Besides to provide national demand, MIFEE is also wished to produce food commodities for export. The Government plans to launch the general design of this MIFEE program this August.

For the local people, MIFEE seems to make more disadventages. The people feel that they are not involved in this program. Customary lands belong to the people which by the local rule are not allowed to be traded, are being exchanged with some motorcycles. This situation is used by some land speculants who buy lands cheaply. The people do not know that the prices of their lands will rise as soon as this MIFEE project is really realized. The lack of education makes the people can less understand the regulations in the contracts with investors, make them as the victims. The lack of education also makes the people can not be employed by the investors’ companies. It’s ironic, in their own hometown, the people are considered third class people. According to a public figure of Merauke, JP Kamarka, the local people need to be more involved in the development in Merauke. The point is the empowerment of the people. The people need time to chance and adapt. Don’t let these people be the object of land monopoly.
The unreadiness of the people to change into paddy and other commodities farmers seems clear. Sample lands that are opened and provided for the people to plant, are not planted. The people don’t want to plant because they aren’t sure and the capital is not enough. According to a transmigrant farmer from Brebes, Nurhadi, he can only plant paddy once a year because the supply of plain water is not enough for the irrigation.

Complaints also come from the investors’ companies that complain about the bad infrastructures in Merauke. The road connecting Onggari to Muara Byan is still a bumpy dirt road. And the road from wooden pier in Sanggase Coast to Okaba is now only a 40 centimeters wide asphalt road. According to Minister of Forestry, Zulfikri Hasan, 11 companies that proposed permit to his department have resigned because of this infrastructure issue.

It seems that MIFEE program realization will be a long way to go. We need to prepare, take care of all the problems of the local people and investors’ companies. Will Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate be just a dream? We’ll wait and see because the development in Merauke will be held untill 2030. We hope that we’ll get the solutions to end the interest conflict between the local people and the investors. (anis)