Rice Centers at Risk of Harvest Failure: West Java

By Barrie | August 8th, 2007 | No Comments

The Cirebon regental administration in West Java said it is ready to face the worst after a chronic dry spell which could see thousands of hectares of rice plantations ruined. Some 8,000 hectares of rice in Cirebon regency are at risk of drying up — 3,000 ha of which is prone to complete harvest failure.

The drought in Majalengka regency has also become a serious threat to farmers.

Around 6,000 ha of rice crops could face harvest failure due to the depleting water supply.

Cirebon regency’s Agriculture and Plantation Office head Ali Effendi said Tuesday his office was ready to face the consequences and would provide assistance to drought affected farmers.

Ali said his office would prioritize 9,000 farmers in Kapetakan district whose farms were parched.

Kapetakan is so far the worst-hit area in Cirebon regency.

“We will also continue to monitor rice fields which are potentially at risk of drying up,” Ali said.

Drought affected areas include Pangenan, Astanajapura, Arjawinangun, Susukan, Pabedilan and Sumber.

“The worst-affected areas are Kapetakan and Gegesik which are both prone to annual droughts,” Ali said.

The water shortage in Cirebon regency is due to a sharp drop in supply from the Rentang Dam in Majalengka regency.

Ali said most of the 50,000 ha of rice fields in Cirebon regency depended on a water supply from Rentang Dam.

“Water normally supplied to Kapetakan and Gegesik has dropped sharply because of their lower geographical positions — their water has already been used for upper regions,” he said.

Cirebon regency administration said it would provide pumps to water the rice fields.

Despite the threat of drought, Ali said he was optimistic Cirebon regency’s rice production would not be affected.

“We are even optimistic the production of dried, unhulled rice would rise this year,” he said.

Rice production in Cirebon regency is expected to reach 26,400 tons this year, or a surplus of around 15 percent compared to last year.

“We are confident our rice production will be safe and we will maintain our position as (an important) rice center in West Java,” Ali said.

In Majalengka regency, around 6,000 ha of rice fields in Kertajati and Jatitujuh districts could face harvest failure.

Majalengka Water Resources Management Agency head Yayat Sudrajat said the affected plantations are rain-dependent rice fields.

“They are damaged because they solely depend on the rain for irrigation and rivers in the area have dried up,” he said.

Yayat said his office had informed farmers not to plant rice during the dry season long before farmers were due to cultivate their crops.

“The area can be planted only in the rainy season (when) water supplies are (abundant),” he said.

Farmers said they had suffered huge losses due to the harvest failure.

“I lost around Rp 9 million because each hectare requires around Rp 3 million to cultivate — and to me that’s a lot of money,” said one farmer in Jatitujuh.

Cirebon and Majalengka regencies are the two main rice growing areas located in the north coast of West Java, after Indramayu, Karawang and Subang.

Nana Rukmana