Harvest Failure Feared in Java

Abnormal weather conditions are affecting several parts of the archipelago and in so doing are causing hardship to many families. A severe drought is causing thousands of hectares of rice fields to dry up throughout Java.

Fortunately in Bali they have a unique watering system or Subak which allows fair and equal sharing of the water resources flowing from the mountains. I cannot think of a bad harvest from drought occurring in Bali but no doubt they have occurred at some time.

In Java however the situation is becoming critical. Harvest failure is feared in the major rice production regions due to dwindling water supplies. It is still unclear whether it will affect total rice production because the country has recorded surpluses in the staple food in the last few years despite the dry season.

This year the government had decided to extend its rice import ban which was scheduled to expire this month until the end of 2006 because of adequate rice stocks in the domestic market.

In West Java the disruption of the irrigation system has hit rice fields in Cirebon and Indramayu which are the province’s main production areas. In Cirebon, about 5,000 hectares in three districts are affected while the situation is worse in Indramayu with 19 districts covering about 30,000 hectares of rice fields, scorched, according to data from the local administration.

Asyikin Kusnadi, head of the irrigation and climatology section of the Cirebon Agriculture and Plantation Office said the problem was caused mainly by the sharp drop in water supplies from nearby Rentang dam. Rentang functions as the main supplier of water for irrigation in three major rice production regencies and those being Cirebon, Indramayu and Majalengka.

Farmers are resigned to the loss of their crops.

Other areas such as Wonosobo, Magelang and Temanggung will also experience the drought but not for eight months and in East Java the drought is affecting rice farming in areas of Lumajang.