The great eruptions of Mount Merapi began more than a month ago. The severe damages caused by the impacts of the volcanic eruptions have drawn a great deal of attention from both the national and international media.
The month-long eruptions have killed more than 200 people, displaced over 100,000 residents, killed over 1,000 livestock and destroyed over 1,000 hectares of productive farming fields.
Reports and ideas for rehabilitation and reconstruction of residential areas and public infrastructure have been offered by many concerned parties.
However, little attention has been given to Merapi’s impacts on farming and rehabilitation of farming
activities.
Farming has historically been the custom of people living around Mt. Merapi, with villagers involved in planting rice, corn, cassava and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
Small holder plantations cultivating snake fruit, banana, coffee and coconut have long existed in the area. Villagers also raise various species of livestock, such as dairy cows, cattle and goats.
Villagers with favorable water resources in nearby Sleman regency and some parts of Magelang regency have also been conducting business through fish farming and trade.
The most traumatic damage to farming has been mostly caused by ash and hot clouds. Areas located near the center of the eruptions, Sleman in Yogyakarta and Magelang, Klaten, and Boyolali, in Central Java, have been seriously damaged, with the farming sector having suffered the most.
About 1,400 hectares of snake fruit fields are seriously damaged in Sleman. Eruptions also destroyed about 700 hectares of vegetable plantation areas, 347 hectares of coffee and coconut plantation and 170 hectares of rice fields.
Losses from damaged snake fruit plantations are estimated to have reached Rp 140 billion (US$15.5 million). Total losses will be much higher if all farming damages are included.
Total losses in farming sector in Magelang are estimated at Rp 247 billion. The worst damage was on snake fruit orchards, covering 5,000 hectares, with losses estimated at Rp 84 billion.
This is followed by damages to 100 hectares of rice fields, with losses estimated at Rp 43 billion.
In Boyolali, thousands of hectares of vegetable and secondary crops were damaged, with losses estimated at Rp 24 billion. A similar amount of estimated losses was also reported in Klaten.
Losses to the livestock sector are also high. It was reported that 1,961 livestock were killed during the eruptions, including 1,780 dairy cows, 147 cattle and 180 goats and sheep.
In sum, damages and losses to farming activities caused by the Merapi eruptions have considerably affected the livelihoods of the local people.
As farming traditionally has been the main livelihood and source of household income for villagers living around Mt. Merapi, proper mechanisms and strategies for farming rehabilitation and reconstruction are therefore urgent. Immediate actions will have a greater impact on the revitalization and survival of affected farming households.
A study by T. Wilson, et al. (2007) on the impact on agriculture and infrastructure following the 2006 eruption at Merapi provided useful ideas on farming reconstruction.
The impacts of ash from volcanic eruption vary. The heaviest impact — buried crops — will occur if volcanic material is released in large quantities. This could result in total loss for farmers.
If the falling ash is smaller in quantity, the impacts on agricultural crops can be in the form of acid damage, smothering of plants and damaged fruit and vegetable skins.
Acid damage can decease resistance and inhibit plant germination. Smothering plants could inhibit the process of photosynthesis. Thick ash fall may discolor fruits, making them difficult to sell.
In searching for crops that can adapt to ash sediment, it is important to consider the types of crops and the availability of fresh water sources, including rain.
Crop vulnerability to eruption material is highly dependent on the type of crop. Root and surface-level vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, onions and cabbage, have been observed to be the most resilient.
The availability of fresh water is again essential to immediately washing crops as rinsing is the best way to remove ash.
Rains are also useful for handling the ash problem. Daily monsoonal rains will rapidly wash ash and aerosol deposits from plants, and will also integrate the ash into the soil more quickly.
Although volcanic materials cause various damages to agriculture in the short-term, in the long-term it is useful for soil fertility.
Volcanic materials increase sulfur, selenium and halogen availability, all of which are fundamental for soil fertility.
In designing the best and most comprehensive planning for farming rehabilitation in areas affected by the Merapi eruptions, keen cooperation from all related parties is expected.
Related government offices, research institutes, universities, state and private corporations, NGOs and farming groups should work together to formulate the best scenario for farming rehabilitation.
Arrangement and selection of resilient farming crops, provision of water supply and rehabilitation of soil fertility in the rehabilitated areas will likely be among the key factors for the success of farming rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.
The writer is a lecturer at the School of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, and a PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo.
