The Malang regency head of East Java’s Horticultural Food Crops and Plantation Agency, Nasri Abdul Wahid (standing), explains the Plant Protection Brigade Information System on Friday (8/9) to local agency instructors. Also known as Si Brilian, the Android-based system manages pests and other agricultural issues.
Farmers in Malang regency are using “Si Brilian” (The Brilliant), an Android app to help get rid of vegetation-pestering bugs. Thanks to Si Brilian, farmers can enjoy good harvests despite bug infestations.
The sun was unbearably hot on Tuesday (Sept. 5, 2017) and yet Satu’i, 45, kept working in his field. This season, Satu’i was preparing to sow Ciherang rice.
Satu’i had great hopes that he would enjoy a bountiful harvest. This hope arose from the fact that, in the previous planting season, he was able to harvest his rice field despite the wereng (brown planthopper) infestation.
At that time, Satu’i harvested around 2.5 tons of dry unhusked rice (GKG) from his 2,500-square-meter field. It was slightly smaller than his usual yield of three tons of GKG. However, the amount was still decent, considering that many other farmers suffered from crop failure due to the wereng infestation.
“I could still harvest. Many others had their rice fields attacked by wereng and their harvest yields were reduced. The wereng bugs came after the first fertilization period,” Satu’i said while pointing to a rice field located just one kilometer to the south of his field.
In order to eradicate the bugs, farmers sprayed insecticide on their fields simultaneously. Dozens of farmers were involved and officers from the local agriculture agency helped.
“Agriculture agency officers helped provide the bug repellant. Farmers brought their own sprayers and sprayed on their own fields. There were two periods of spraying,” Satu’i said.
Agricultural innovation
In order to support food production efforts, the Malang regency administration in East Java, through the Malang regency horticulture and plantation agency, created an innovation to serve farmers’ needs. The innovation was in the form of the Plant Protection Brigade Information System (Si Brilian).
Si Brilian is a work unit that specifically tackles attacks from plant-infesting organisms, including wereng, rats and dried leaves. The system can monitor bug infestations and help organize immediate action.
The moment a report comes in, teams will be deployed to help farmers in their field. It is hoped that the system works quickly and economically using Android-based information technology to reach the proper target. Si Brilian is active around the clock and reports can include text, photos and videos.
Malang regency horticulture and plantation agency head Nasri Abdul Wahid, who also heads the public service working unit, said Si Brilian launched in 2015. However, the Android app was just launched this year. The app is currently still a prototype. The plan was to finish the service’s website in September this year.
“Before the Android app was launched, reports were made in writing or by phone. The response time was slightly longer, at one day at least. With Si Brilian, we can respond within minutes as it is a real-time system with spatial information,” Nasri said.
According to him, the Si Brilian team works closely with farmers to tackle bug infestations. Currently, the agency has 25 plant-infesting organism control (POPT) officers. Eradication efforts are carried out immediately after reports come in.
Through the system, Nasri said, the Si Brilian team and local farmers can tackle around 75 percent of wereng-infested fields. Bug eradication can be done more effectively as the mechanisms, period, dosage, application, type and target are properly planned and implemented.
Si Brilian data shows that 1,200 hectares of local fields were infested with wereng at light and medium levels between January and August this year. Some 4,027 hectares of rice fields are now under control. There were also light and medium rat infestations at 409 hectares of fields, with 2,695 hectares of fields under control.
“In the planting season in October, hopefully we can control up to 90 percent of rice fields. However, we hope there would be no further infestations,” said Nasri, adding that the innovation was his idea.
At this early stage, Si Brilian is accessed mostly by POPT officers and agriculture supervisors. Farmers with bug infestation problems often find it difficult to file reports. Nasri said not all farmers could use handheld gadgets. This is a major obstacle in expanding the app’s usage.
However, with continuous socialization and training, he said the agency hoped to overcome the obstacle soon. Si Brilian will focus not only on tackling bugs but also on other agricultural problems. Malang regency administration said it would not mind Si Brilian being used by farmers in other regions, including its adoption by the Agriculture Ministry.
“The system has proven to be effective in tackling agricultural issues. Apart from helping farmers reach their planting area targets, Si Brilian also reduces the risk of crop failure due to plant-infesting organisms,” Nasri said.
Malang regency has up to 45,888 hectares of agricultural fields, including 33,111 hectares of rice fields with technical irrigation and 12,777 hectares with non-technical irrigation. In 2016, rice production reached 505,138 tons of GKG from 74,443 hectares of planting area. In 2017, Malang regency’s annual planting area target increased by 20 percent to 88,488 hectares.
