Farmers told to use alternative rice planting method

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 07/28/2007 12:05 PM

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an attempt to reach the government's target for rice self-supply by 2008, an expert has called for the widespread implementation of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) by farmers throughout the country.

By applying the SRI method, farmers would obtain more rice using less water by altering their planting methods, Siuchi Sato from the Decentralized Irrigation System Improvement Project in the Eastern Region of Indonesia (DISIMP) said Friday.

""It has been proven that the SRI is more effective than the conventional method of planting since it is able to boost rice production by more than 50 percent in several areas in Indonesia,"" he said.

First introduced in Indonesia in 1999 by the Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, the SRI method has been applied in provinces nationwide, including in West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and West Java.

""In Central Sulawesi for instance, rice planted using the SRI method produced 7.1 million tons per hectare, while that planted using the conventional method was only able to yield 3.81 million tons per hectare,"" said Sato.

The DISIMP is a joint project that was established in 2003 by the Public Works Ministry and Japanese consultant company Nippon Koei. It is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The project is aimed at developing the agriculture sector in Indonesia's eastern regions so as to improve the livelihoods of local farmers.

By 2008 it is expected Indonesia will produce enough rice to be able to stop importing rice and seeds.

Currently the country imports around 1.5 million tons of rice per year and produces 33 million tons.

Sato said to achieve the rice self-supply target, farmers would have to increase productivity levels by 20 percent.

The Agriculture Ministry is aiming for an increase of two million tons of rice production this year in addition to five percent production growth annually in coming years.

""Even if only 10 percent of all rice fields are planted using the SRI method, the government's target of a two million ton increase in rice production this year will be accomplished,"" Sato said.

He said by using the method, farmers would only need five kilograms of seed per hectare, while the conventional method requires 25 kilograms of seed per hectare. The method also saves up to 50 percent of water compared to that normally used, he said.

""The rice will contain less sugar than usual too. Therefore, it will not easily go rotten,"" he said.

To promote the SRI method and encourage farmers nationwide to apply it, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to attend a harvesting ceremony in Cianjur, West Java, where farmers have implemented the method.

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