In Memoriam Prof. Sajogyo
Prof. Sajogyo was the ‘father’ of rural development sociology in Indonesia. He passed away on 17 March 2012. His thought on the concept of poverty line is still widely used and even developed in a variety of modifications. His studies resulted in many applicable concepts such as the poverty line, family nutrition, and agrarian reforms.
To commemorate the achievements made the prominent intellectuals who played important roles in Indonesia’s rural development, on 26 May 2012, a collaborative event between Bogor Agricultural University with other external institutions was held at IPB International Convention Center. In addition to commemorate what Prof. Sajogya has done for the nation, the event was also to review the relevance of his thought on rural sociology.
Vice Rector for Research and Cooperation, Prof. Dr. Ir. Miftah Anas Fauzi stated in his remarks that theme "Bukan Sekedar Garis (Not Just a Line)" was expected to be something that will be dynamic, will re-evaluate whether the thoughts of Prof. Sajogyo is still relevant to the current conditions.
Similar statement was also delivered by Vice President, Prof. Dr. Boediono, through his recorded remarks. The Vice President said that some of his works were often cited as references. He also mentioned that some of Prof. Sajogyo thoughts are still relevant, however, they should be revised as currently the determinants of the poverty line are varied and complex.
The provision of the poverty line according to Prof. Sajogyo should be identified as those whose annual expenditure was below that sufficient to buy 240 kg per capita of milled rice equivalent (MRE). Later this was refined to apply to the very poor being defined as those whose annual expenditure was between 240 and 320 kg of MRE. If the those total MRE should be converted into Rupiah, they were equivalent into Rp.160.000,- thousand rupiah / capita / month.
The Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) also continue to develop the study of the poverty line. In 2010, it stated that the average poverty line of rural areas was on Rp 192 354 per capita per month, whereas for urban areas was Rp 232 988 and per capita per month. Meanwhile, in 2011 it was amounted to Rp 233 740 (urbans Rp 253 026 and rural areas Rp 213 395).
Meanwhile, one of the studies of the Faculty of Human Ecology in 2011 revealed that the poverty line of Bogor district was Rp. 544 019,- (five hundred fourty four and nineteen Rupiah) per capita per month, thus, the poverty line Sajogyo was undervalued because it was based on minimum living standards, and it was not the decent standard of living. The results of this study is expected to be taken into consideration for policy makers about the need to redefine the poverty line
Guests of this aspecial event, among others were the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr.HS Dillon, Vice Minister for Commerce, Prof. Bayu Krisnamurti, Head of the National Land Agency, Dr. Joyo Winoto, Dean of the Faculty of Human Ecology IPB, Dr. Arif Satria and a number of his colleagues. (Wied).
