Goverment
needs to adopt conservation farming
In its efforts
to achieve food self-sufficiency in the next few years, the government needs to
be prudent in implementing policies for the agricultural sector, according to
an official from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
FAO Representative in Indonesia Mark Smulders said the government needed to introduce policies that promote good agricultural practices.
He suggested that the government would be better off investing in infrastructure development rather than providing fertilizer subsidies for farmers, which proved unsustainable in the long run.
“It’s good to subsidize farming to encourage people to produce food, but you have to be careful how you subsidize farming. [By making] fertilizers and pesticides too cheap, it’s actually having a negative impact,” Smulders said during a discussion in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
The state has earmarked Rp 28.5 trillion (US$2.18 billion) for fertilizer subsidies this year to help achieve President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s food self-sufficiency plan.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, the state is subsidizing 9.5 million tons of fertilizer this year with the assumption that nationwide fertilizer consumption stands at around 800,000 to 900,000 tons per month. Currently, Indonesia consumes 15.2 million tons of fertilizer annually.
Jokowi has stated that he wants the country to be self-sufficient in sugar, rice and corn within four years, asking farmers to work hard to raise production levels.
Smulders argued that the subsidy policy provided “short-term gain and long-term pain” as costs increasingly outweighed the benefits. “You can get high yield with high [use of] fertilizer [...] but it has very high costs and ruins the soil,” he explained.
As an alternative solution, the FAO official suggested the state adopt conservation agriculture (CA), a concept that promotes the preservation of soil and natural resources while also providing higher yields, all by using a combination of traditional techniques.
In September 2013, the international organization initiated a pilot project involving 4,902 farmers in nine districts across East and West Nusa Tenggara, “reintroducing” a number of old techniques to revitalize soil fertility.
The four-year program, implemented with the help of the Agriculture Ministry’s district offices and four local NGOs, was funded by the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office for US Foreign Disaster Assistance, which disbursed $1.6 million for the first two years of the program, with the budget set to double this May.
The FAO set up 30-hectare CA demonstration plots in 237 locations across the two provinces, which were chosen for their barren land and vulnerability to climate change, according to FAO representative assistant for programmes Ageng Herianto.
After planting maize on the demonstrations plots, which used CA techniques like permanent soil cover, planting holes and intercropping, the average yield of corn crops more than doubled from 2 tons per hectare to 4.5 tons per hectare in one planting season, Ageng revealed on Wednesday.
He said that farmer groups from each location were encouraged to adopt CA on 300 hectares of their own land after witnessing such positive results, adding that the techniques could also be used for other food crops.
“We’re trying to show that farmers notice the environment very well [...] so when they see something that works, they’ll immediately adopt [it],” Smulders explained.
“We’d like to see the government promote these good practices, to put in place policies and mechanisms — and even subsidies, if they’re appropriate — to help introduce these new technologies.”
FAO Representative in Indonesia Mark Smulders said the government needed to introduce policies that promote good agricultural practices.
He suggested that the government would be better off investing in infrastructure development rather than providing fertilizer subsidies for farmers, which proved unsustainable in the long run.
“It’s good to subsidize farming to encourage people to produce food, but you have to be careful how you subsidize farming. [By making] fertilizers and pesticides too cheap, it’s actually having a negative impact,” Smulders said during a discussion in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
The state has earmarked Rp 28.5 trillion (US$2.18 billion) for fertilizer subsidies this year to help achieve President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s food self-sufficiency plan.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, the state is subsidizing 9.5 million tons of fertilizer this year with the assumption that nationwide fertilizer consumption stands at around 800,000 to 900,000 tons per month. Currently, Indonesia consumes 15.2 million tons of fertilizer annually.
Jokowi has stated that he wants the country to be self-sufficient in sugar, rice and corn within four years, asking farmers to work hard to raise production levels.
Smulders argued that the subsidy policy provided “short-term gain and long-term pain” as costs increasingly outweighed the benefits. “You can get high yield with high [use of] fertilizer [...] but it has very high costs and ruins the soil,” he explained.
As an alternative solution, the FAO official suggested the state adopt conservation agriculture (CA), a concept that promotes the preservation of soil and natural resources while also providing higher yields, all by using a combination of traditional techniques.
In September 2013, the international organization initiated a pilot project involving 4,902 farmers in nine districts across East and West Nusa Tenggara, “reintroducing” a number of old techniques to revitalize soil fertility.
The four-year program, implemented with the help of the Agriculture Ministry’s district offices and four local NGOs, was funded by the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office for US Foreign Disaster Assistance, which disbursed $1.6 million for the first two years of the program, with the budget set to double this May.
The FAO set up 30-hectare CA demonstration plots in 237 locations across the two provinces, which were chosen for their barren land and vulnerability to climate change, according to FAO representative assistant for programmes Ageng Herianto.
After planting maize on the demonstrations plots, which used CA techniques like permanent soil cover, planting holes and intercropping, the average yield of corn crops more than doubled from 2 tons per hectare to 4.5 tons per hectare in one planting season, Ageng revealed on Wednesday.
He said that farmer groups from each location were encouraged to adopt CA on 300 hectares of their own land after witnessing such positive results, adding that the techniques could also be used for other food crops.
“We’re trying to show that farmers notice the environment very well [...] so when they see something that works, they’ll immediately adopt [it],” Smulders explained.
“We’d like to see the government promote these good practices, to put in place policies and mechanisms — and even subsidies, if they’re appropriate — to help introduce these new technologies.”
Summaries:
Government warned to adopt conservation
farming. Indonesian
government needs to adopt conservation farming, according to the United
Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). In its efforts to
achieve food self-sufficiency in the next few years, the government needs to be
prudent in implementing policies for the agricultural sector, according to an
official from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The suggestion is for the government to invest in infrastructure development rather than simply subsidising fertilisers, which the government plans on doing this year through the earmarked 2015 budget of fertilisers subsidy. A conservation farming method comprises of techniques such as permanent soil cover and planting holes and intercropping. The farming method promotes for soil and natural reserves preservation while also helps farmers to increase yields, all by using a combination of traditional techniques. With fertilisers, crops could also get higher yield, but the cost is too high as fertilisers are expensive and they ruin the soil, according FAO Indonesia representative Mark Smulders. To disseminate about conservation farming to Indonesian farmers, the FAO initiated pilot project involving 4,902 farmers in nine districts across East and West Nusa Tenggara. The land for the farming covers 30-hectare demonstration plots of land in 237 locations across the provinces. Agricultural crop has gained more attention as President Joko Widodo seeks for food sufficiency in sugar, rice, and corn within four years. His program was enacted in the 2015 budget by providing subsidy for fertilisers to farmers. (Source: The Jakarta Globe)
The suggestion is for the government to invest in infrastructure development rather than simply subsidising fertilisers, which the government plans on doing this year through the earmarked 2015 budget of fertilisers subsidy. A conservation farming method comprises of techniques such as permanent soil cover and planting holes and intercropping. The farming method promotes for soil and natural reserves preservation while also helps farmers to increase yields, all by using a combination of traditional techniques. With fertilisers, crops could also get higher yield, but the cost is too high as fertilisers are expensive and they ruin the soil, according FAO Indonesia representative Mark Smulders. To disseminate about conservation farming to Indonesian farmers, the FAO initiated pilot project involving 4,902 farmers in nine districts across East and West Nusa Tenggara. The land for the farming covers 30-hectare demonstration plots of land in 237 locations across the provinces. Agricultural crop has gained more attention as President Joko Widodo seeks for food sufficiency in sugar, rice, and corn within four years. His program was enacted in the 2015 budget by providing subsidy for fertilisers to farmers. (Source: The Jakarta Globe)
1. which
used CA techniques like permanent soil cover, planting holes and intercropping,
the average yield of corn crops more than doubled from ..... tons per hectare
to 4.5 tons
A. 4
B. 2
C. 5
D. 1
2.
How many location The FAO set up 30-hectare CA demonstration plots?
A. 228
B. 221
C. 237
D. 225
3. What the meaning of FAO?
A. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
B. Food and Agriculture Office
C. Food and Agriculture Offer
D. Food and Agriculture Order
4. When the international organization initiated
a pilot project involving 4,902 farmers in nine districts across East and West
Nusa Tenggara, “reintroducing” a number of old techniques to revitalize soil
fertility?
A. September 2013
B. September 2014
C. September 2015
D. September 2016
5. After planting maize on the demonstrations
plots, then?
A. Reduce the Techniques like soil cover
B. Transfer Soil to Permanent Technique
C. which used CA techniques like permanent soil cover,
planting holes and intercropping
D. Recover the soil and planting holes
Grammar
1. Modal
-
Jokowi has stated that
he wants the country to be self-sufficient in sugar, rice and corn within four
years, asking farmers to work hard to raise production levels
2. To
Be
-
the state is
subsidizing 9.5 million tons of fertilizer this year with the assumption that
nationwide fertilizer consumption stands at around 800,000 to 900,000 tons per
month
3. Tenses
- Bank
of America Merrill Lynch cut growth prediction for Indonesia from 5.7 percent
to 5.5 percent (Present Tense)
-
Jokowi has stated that he wants the country to
be self-sufficient in sugar, rice and corn within four years, asking farmers to
work hard to raise production levels (Past Perfect Tense)
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