Drought threatens rice supply from Lampung, West Java

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/18/2003 2:35 PM

Oyos Saroso HN and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung/Bandung

Farmers in Lampung and West Java are likely to face difficulties with the rice harvest in the next two months, as hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice fields have been under threat of a long drought that has started plaguing the two provinces.

Paddy fields one month to two months old have been wilting, as the soil has become parched due to a lack of rain, while almost all the rivers used for irrigating farms in the two provinces have been drying up.

Nurdin, a 48-year-old farmer from Seiputih Surabaya district, Central Lampung regency, said most farmers had planted rice two months ago in order to reach their target of harvesting three times a year.

""Besides, during the dry season, we want to build up a stock of rice that will last until November,"" he said, adding that the dry season this year had arrived two months earlier than usual.

He said most farmers in the regency had sold their rice harvest at a lower price, due to urgent needs.

The price of unhusked rice has fallen slightly to between Rp 800 (9 U.S. cents) and Rp 900 per kilogram (kg), from the government-set price of Rp 1,200 per kg.

""Farmers have had to sell their rice stocks to be able to afford to send their children to school on the eve of the 2003/2004 academic year. This year many farmers suffered losses because of the falling price of unhusked rice,"" he said.

Sawali, a resident of Menggala district, Tulangbawang regency, agreed, saying that farmers had no other alternative but to grow rice because the soil in the regency was not suitable for other plants, such as vegetables, chili or maize.

Worst hit by the drought have been rice fields in the regencies of East, Central and North Lampung, Tulangbawang and Tanggamus.

Sunarso, from Talangpadang village, Tanggamus, said that to help cope with the water crisis, many farmers had sunk wells to water their rice fields.

""Farmers have formed groups to dig wells on their own farmland and so far some have not been too badly affected by the drought,"" he said.

Lampung economic development bureau chief Teddy Djunaidi confirmed that the drought had so far affected more than 100,000 hectares of rice field in the province.

""The relevant authorities have warned farmers against planting because of the early arrival of the dry season this year, but they have ignored the warning,"" he said.

Chief of the local office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency Abdul Qohir warned of the possibility of a longer dry season in Indonesia this year because of the El Nio phenomenon and the deteriorating ecosystem.

""Widespread illegal logging and the creation of farms in previously forested areas of North and West Lampung will decrease the frequency of rains in the province,"" he said.

Meanwhile, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan pledged on Tuesday to hand over seedlings, fertilizer and tractors as assistance to farmers in the province's north coast area, whose rice fields have been damaged by the drought.

""We are making an inventory of farmers whose rice fields have withered. We shall help them plant again and try to repair damaged irrigation channels that service their farms,"" he said when starting his first day in office following his inauguration as new governor on Saturday.

Around 95,000 hectares of rice field in Cirebon and Indramayu, a rice belt of West Java, have withered because of the drought.

The water supply from dams at Salam Darma, Subang regency; Bendung Rentang, Majalengka regency, and Jatiluhur, Purwakarta regency, has fallen drastically because it has not rained for the last few weeks.

Danny also said he would order all regents in Purwakarta, Majalengka, Subang, Cirebon and Indramayu to ensure that water was supplied to farms to avoid local unrest.

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