Drought Hits Rice Production, Worse to Come as Climate Changes

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Farmer Waryono, 49, shows on Friday (27/7/2018) soil in his rice paddy that has cracked and dried from the ongoing drought in Karangmulya village of Kandanghaur district, Indramayu regency, West Java. It is feared that at least 2,000 hectares of rice fields in the districts of Kandanghaur and Losarang will fail to produce a harvest this season.

TEGAL, KOMPAS — The area of rice fields affected by drought nationwide has increased sharply over the past two months, which will seriously affect food production. The government needs to anticipate the impact of the drought.

According to data from the Agriculture Ministry, rice fields affected by drought total an area of 134,790 hectares as of Aug. 24, 2018, up from 115,371 ha in July. The area rice harvest failure increased from 23,895 ha to 26,430 ha.

That figure is still small compared to the rice planting area estimated at 9.15 million ha, but that is little consolation for the farmers currently struggling to save their crops, who now need to spend extra funds to get water. Sukarta (46), a farmer in Dukuhwaru village, Tegal regency, Central Java, for an example, said on Saturday (25/8/2018) that he had spent Rp 3 million to operate a well pump.

A number of farmers in the regencies of Cirebon and Indramayu in Java West have expressed worry that the irrigation problem is putting their entire rice farming activity in jeopardy. Water supply from Bendung Rentang in Majalengka regency has been cut off since mid-August. "The water from the irrigation channel does not flow anymore. We will be [out of business], if we have to bear the additional costs," said Sarkam (70), a farmer from Wanasari, Bangodua district, Indramayu regency.

According to Guntur Subagja, the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen, the drought has affected most of the rice fields in Java, which contribute about 50 percent of national supply. The drought could reduce national output by about 10 percent during the harvest season in the second half of 2018.

The chairman of the Indonesian Seed Bank and Technology Association (AB2TI), Dwi Andreas Santosa, said that, according to a temporary study by the AB2TI, the drought would affect 39.6 percent of the food production areas and was estimated to reduce output by 39.3 percent in the affected areas.

The drought has caused an increase in the price of the dried unhusked rice (GKP) to Rp 4,672 per kilogram from Rp 4,388 per kg within two weeks.

Meanwhile, the director general of food crops at the Agriculture Ministry, Sumarjo Gatot Irianto, said the drought did not necessarily reduce the water supply for irrigation. To deal with famine, farmers would be encouraged to grow the gogo rice variety, which is resistant to drought, beginning in October.

Getting drier

Indonesia has been warned to anticipate the impacts of drought and a decline in the water supply, because the rainfall will likely continue to decrease due to climate change. Recent research shows that the duration of drought in Indonesia will increase by 20 percent if global temperatures increase by 2 degrees. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from a number of countries, including Indonesia, and the results were published in the Asia-Pacific Network (APN) journal for Global Change Research on August 22, 2018.

"This is our latest study, and this should become our attention in the future," Suparia, a researcher of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), who participated in the study, said on Sunday.

The study estimates changes in evaporation patterns that will affect rain patterns in Southeast Asia if the global temperature increases by 2 degrees Celsius. The study forecast changes in weather patterns from 2031-2051, with most parts of Indonesia expected to see a significant decrease in rainfall, while the Indochina region will experience more rain.

"There are several small spots that will get wetter, such as in the highlands of northern Sumatra, parts of Kalimantan and Papua. However, in general, Indonesia\'s territory is increasingly dry. "Java, Bali, to East Nusa Tenggara are among the worst affected by the decline in rainfall," Supari said.

(JUD/HEN/CAS/AIK)