ABSTRACT
This article discusses the notion of nationalism and decolonization in pre-independent Indonesia. Through the case of agricultural research, particularly rice crops, we show the transformation of vision and policies from the colonial era to the pre-independence era. While the colonial policy was geared towards increasing income for the colonial government through export crops, the Indonesian government was struggling to establish efficient policies to escalate food crops production. One of the solutions offered came from a rice researcher named Jagus. He envisioned the self-sufficiency of village farmers to continuously manage their own rice seeds. Furthermore, Jagus also suggested a mechanism to directly link research centers with village farmers. However, these people-centered visions of agriculture research diminished along with the 1965 anti-communist violence which transformed the national policy into a capitalistic-oriented one under the New Order government. Decolonization and discourses on nationalist agrarian strategies ended along with this transformation.
