Drought hits Cirebon farmers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 07/19/2007 11:25 AM
CIREBON, West Java: Prolonged drought is threatening 8,000 hectares of rice fields in Cirebon regency, a major rice producer in West Java province.
Head of the regency agriculture and plantation office, Ali Effendi, said Wednesday the effects of the drought were being most keenly felt in Kapetakan and Gegesik districts.
He said rice fields that relied on rainwater for irrigation could experience harvest failures if no efforts were made to supply them with water.
""Currently, the water level at Kumpulkuista dam in Kapetakan has sharply decreased,"" Ali said.
The dry spell, he said, posed a threat to the welfare of some 16,000 farmers in the regency.
He said the regency administration would work to provide water pumps for farmers, but could not provide a time frame. -- JP
