Innovation Indonesia's Key Success In Gaining Rice Self-Sufficiency

Jakarta, March 23 (Antara) - A number of government officials from Jombang District, Indonesian rice experts, and representatives of the German chemical giant BASF joined a Rice Innovation Tour in Carangrejo Village, Jombang District, East Java Province, on March 17. The event was organized to explore ways through which the innovation can boost rice yields and quality; sustainably maintain the environment and improve the livelihood of local farmers. Indonesia has an important and worthy goal by increasing the volume of its rice yields because, by doing so, it is not only able to feed its growing population but also to free itself from being a rice importer and make its ambition of being self sufficient in rice come true. As Indonesia's arable land cannot significantly be increased without compromising natural resources, improving the yields and quality of existing rice areas is very important. The innovation in rice growing techniques is believed by Agricultural expert from Brawijaya University Kuswanto to help local farmers increase their rice yields and also improve their rice quality. The improving rice growing techniques, he said, would also take care of the environment and enable the farmers to rise their income."The application of agricultural and cultivation technology becomes important to increase the crop production," he said. According to Kuswanto, there are seven applicable technologies to increase the rice production, namely system of rice intensification (SRI), "Jajar Legowo" planting system, hybrid rice, C4 Rice Project, solar energy utilization, maximizing rice physiological process, and pest management. The yield of rice fields depends on quite a few factors, such as varieties of rice planted, knowledge and agricultural expertise of farmers as well as the right choice of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and crop protection products to control diseases and harmful pests. Regarding the Rice Innovation Experience Tour, the BASF organized the program in Carangrejo Village to introduce the company's new crop protection product and to socialize the innovation in agricultural to 350 farmers. The company started investing in Indonesia by establishing PT BASF Indonesia Magnetics which began commercial production in 1976. By providing its buyers in Indonesia, Timor Leste (East Timor) and Papua New Guinea with a variety of products, such as petrochemicals and crop protection, the company earned 482 million euros of sales in 2014. This commercial success is closely related to the strength of BASF's research and development division in which the company's spending for its research and development activities reached Rp7.19 trillion (511 million euro) in 2014. "Of the total budget, BASF spent 250 million euros to conduct the research and development projects for creating a product that can help fight the rice blast disease," BASF's Crop Protection Business Area Manager for Southeast Asia Leon van Mullekom stated recently. The rice blast is one of the most destructive diseases affecting the rice crop and is caused by the fungus "Magnaporthe grisea," which can destroy rice plants. "The innovations in rice-growing techniques and pesticides will contribute to higher rice yields and quality," Leon said adding that Jombang was chosen by his company to introduce its new and innovative product because of the district's track record and social reality. As known, Jombang is one of the highest rice-producing districts in East Java along with Banyuwangi, Ngawi, and Lamongan. Nearly 60 percent of the total population in Jombang work as farmers with nearly half of the total land in the area is used for rice fields. Deputy Head of Jombang District Munjidah Wahab believed that the target that the district government had set for this year's rice production could be reached by helping local farmers attending this event. "This event is expected to help Jombang achieve its target of producing 436,207 tons of rice in 2015," she said. In January, Jombang has harvested seven thousand tons of rice. Earlier in 2014, Jombang managed to achieve a surplus production of 145 thousand tons of rice. However, she warned that "rats, brown planthoppers, and rice blast diseases" are still the main constraints hindering farmers' productivity. The innovation is expected to increase the productivity of our farmers so that the rice production that can help the government achieve rice self-sufficiency can drastically be increased, Munjidah said. For the local farmers, like Ahmad Syafi'i, the government's more serious attention to their fate by providing them with incentives was needed. "Farmers will still plant rice even though they suffer a harvest failure. But farmers should not be allowed to live and work alone," said the farmer from Carangrejo Village. President Joko Widodo has earlier shown his good care of the Indonesian farmers by considering the importance of their position in succeeding his government's efforts to achieve the rice self-sufficiency within three years. The president pledged that his government would give more incentives to farmers to meet the objective but he urged them to boost the yield of rice to maintain the availability of food stocks. "I asked all farmers to be more confident in producing rice and informed them that the government will not import the commodity anymore. So production should rise," Jokowi said during his recent working visit to Jetis village, Ponorogo District, East Java. The government has prepared facilities and infrastructure to improve agricultural production, including irrigation systems, tractors, rice-planting machines, and combine harvesters and seeds. In dealing the rice price hike, the president refused to import despite pressure from several quarters in the society because he does believe in Indonesia's ability to achieve the rice self-sufficiency in the future. With the help of the government's pro-farmer policies and innovation in rice growing techniques, the Indonesian farmers can keep increasing their rice production from its current level of 4.7 tons of rice per hectare while their colleagues in Vietnam and China can harvest 5.6 and 6.5 tons of rice per hectare respectively.