Blora sugarcane producers at the limit of patience: between bankruptcy and resistance

Korandiva-BLORA.- Under the night sky of the town of Blora, a cup of coffee at Café Kuma no longer warms sugarcane producers. On Saturday (05/23/2026), there was a scent of long-lasting anxiety. Tired faces formed a circle, harboring anger that had been forced to remain silent for years. They are not only administrators of peasant organizations. They are the ones who maintain the last hope of thousands of sugarcane farmers in Blora regency.

Under the command of APTRI President Blora, Drs. H. Sunoto, the spirit of resistance has not yet died out. Like sails unfurled in the midst of a storm, they refused to back down even as the waves continued to hit them.
That night’s brainstorming forum turned into a wound confession room. One by one, the problems were resolved. On the fate of farmers who seem suspended in limbo, without certainty. Sugar cane which no longer promises sweetness, but rather prolonged bitterness.

Until now, APTRI Blora has not remained silent. Various doors of power have been knocked on. From the Blora DPRD building, from the Bulog office in Jakarta, to the ministers’ offices. They met with the Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas, who was formerly the Managing Director of PG GMM, had a dialogue with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and even visited various national figures to find a solution to the chaos of the sugar industry in Blora.
However, so far no concrete answers have been provided.

In the fields, the peasant’s voice continues to resonate. Thousands of farmers participated in the Peace Action on April 2, 2026. The next day, they again asked for their commitment from the Director of Bulog during a working visit to the PG PT GMM. The farmers’ representatives were even ready to visit the residence of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, in Solo, report on the “Mas Wapres” channel in Jakarta and even complain to the national sugarcane producer, HM Arum Sabil, in Jember.
But the long struggle was like running into a silent wall.
“For now, we are just practicing patience in this endless wait,” Sunoto said softly.

Letters requesting an audience with the Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP), Commission IV DPR RI and Commission VI DPR RI have been sent for a long time. However, so far it is unclear when the plight of thousands of farmers will actually be heard.
For Sunoto, this struggle is not a political scene. He admitted to being inspired by the teachings of KH Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur, who taught that the struggle must be fought with sincerity and honesty.
“It’s not about popularity or position. It’s about serving the little people who are in decline,” he said.
But behind the calm tone, farmers’ anger continued to grow.

Anton Sudibdyo, one of the APTRI administrators, spoke more firmly. According to him, the suffering of farmers has been suppressed for too long. For almost seven years, sugar cane producers in Blora have been facing problems due to the management of PT GMM Bulog, considered chaotic and unprofessional.

The peak occurred during the 2025 milling season, when the sugar factory shut down suddenly due to severe damage to two boilers. The impact is terrible. More than 30,000 sugarcane farmers suffered massive losses estimated at more than IDR 500 billion.
Today, the wound has not healed, but a new threat has emerged.
As the 2026 milling season dawns, owners of around 8,000 hectares of sugarcane land in Blora are starting to panic. They are unable to find a sugar factory outside the area that is willing to accept their harvest. In this context, sugar cane prices continued to fall sharply.

Former PG GMM factory director, Ir. Wahyuningsih, confirmed this heartbreaking situation. According to him, the cessation of the factory’s activities completely collapsed the farmers’ bargaining position. Sugarcane prices are falling freely, while production costs continue to rise.
Among farmers, a heartbreaking satirical term was born: “nandur sugar cane deder kere”.
Plant sugar cane, but what grows is poverty.

Agus Joko Susilo even said that the current condition of farmers is like a “kubro apocalypse”. He described how farmers now have to deal with speculators with big capital, whom he calls “cannibal farmers”, parties who take advantage of the suffering of small farmers for personal gain.
Long-pent-up anger slowly began to take shape.
Hairul Anwar put forward an extreme idea: “Cane Spilling Action”. A symbolic movement by dumping the harvest at three important points, namely in front of the PG GMM, the Blora DPRD building and the official residence of the Blora Regent.
A threat born of desperation.

Amid an increasingly tense situation, APTRI advisors tried to contain the emotions of the masses so that they continued to move in a peaceful corridor. However, they stressed that the central government must no longer turn a blind eye to the tragedy unfolding in Blora.
Because if sugar cane producers are allowed to continue to go bankrupt, the great dream of national self-sufficiency in sugar targeted by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in 2027 could turn into a simple slogan with no basis in reality.
And for Blora farmers, the waiting time could be limited.

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