The Social Welfare Impact of Indonesian Dairy Policies

The Indonesian dairy sector remains highly regulated, in spite of trade and investment policy reforms elsewhere in the economy. The regulations, aimed mainly at fostering development of local industry, include an import ratio requirement (BUSEP), import tariffs; an import licensing scheme, and restrictions on investment in milk processing The paper shows that the current policy mix has resulted in a significant increase in numbers of dairy cattle and dairy farmers, and in fresh milk and end-product output. However, this policy mix imposes costs. The analysis indicates that the economy, and in particular domestic consumers, would gain if dairy trade and investment restrictions were lessened. The gradual movement towards a more deregulated dairy sector is a necessary condition for improved efficiency and a strengthening of Indonesia's competitive position in the world dairy market.     

ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OVER TIME OF WEST JAVANESE RICE FARMS

The high costs and effectiveness of Indonesia's current mix of policies aimed at maintaining rice self-sufficiency, for example fertiliser and other subsidies, has been questioned. Consequently, attention has turned to developing policies to increase farmers yields through efficiencies, for example as a result of better extension. The main issue investigated in this article is whether existing yields can be significantly improved through increasing the efficiency of individual farmers. Production frontiers are estimated and technical efficiencies/inefficiencies predicted from panel data and for one year at a time. Different results are explained in relation to a number of aspects, especially the rate of adoption of new technologies, and policy actions are recommended. The robustness of the analysis is examined as conclusions obtained from past analyses have often been inconsistent.