Rice In Indonesia

On her visit to Indonesia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the growing U.S. relationship and strategic partnership with Indonesia. She cited U.S. support for Indonesia's democracy, trade, and economic development; important military-to-military ties; counterterrorism cooperation; and the desirability of increased educational and cultural programs and exchanges.

During her visit, Secretary Rice announced the U.S. is providing eight-million-five-hundred-thousand dollars to be used to produce educational television programs for Indonesian children. The funds are part of a one-hundred-fifty-seven million dollar U.S. commitment to train teachers and improve school curricula that President George W. Bush announced in 2003.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population but is also the home to millions of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and peoples of other faiths and a variety of ethnicities. Secretary of State Rice said Indonesia's "deserved reputation for tolerance and inclusion and for the celebration of diversity is indeed an inspiration to the entire world." Ms. Rice says the U.S. is committed to working with Indonesia to deal with such issues as avian influenza, maritime piracy, and the fight against regional terrorist groups like Abu Sayyef and Jemaah Islamiyah:

"This region knows that terrorists must be actively confronted, and the United States is helping in that fight. We are working alongside countries like Malaysia and Singapore, and to build the capacity of others, like the Philippines, who have the will to fight terrorism but need help with the means. Indonesia is bringing terrorists to justice. And these actions are empowering people across this region who possess the most enduring force of all, the force of tolerance. Muslim citizens in Southeast Asia are uniting Islamic traditions with democratic principles, and advancing the hope for peace in this region."

Ms. Rice said the U.S., Indonesia, and other nations are "fighting a very tough enemy, an enemy that has been felt. . . .in Indonesia with bombings in Bali and Jakarta":

"There is an understanding that we have a deep and abiding respect for the Indonesian people, for their various faiths, and a desire to see this great democracy prosper."

Secretary of State Rice says, "In Indonesia, the deserved reputation for tolerance and inclusion and for the celebration of diversity is indeed an inspiration to the entire world."

The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.

Indonesia is one of the world's leading rice producers

Indonesia is one of the world's leading rice producers, with paddy production in 2003 of more than 50 million tonnes and a cultivated area of more than 11.5 million ha. Since 1980, Indonesia's national rice yield has been the highest in tropical Asia. Indonesians are also big consumers of rice, averaging more than 200 kg per head each year.

Rice is grown at varying altitudes, with about 75 per cent of plantings in irrigated areas and less than 10 percent on rainfed lowlands. Most rice production takes place on the island of Java under irrigation. Lowland varieties belong mainly to the indica sub-species and about 85% of them are high-yielding. About 7,000 rice varieties or lines that are suitable for uplands, lowlands or tidal swamps have been identified and conserved. The Bulu rice type (also known as named "tropical japonica") was first identified in upland areas of Indonesia.

The area planted to rice increased by 33% between 1969 and 1990. Since then, however, the conversion of many ricelands in Java to non-agricultural uses has contributed to a fall in total output. Sustainable rice production requires the development and deployment of new rice varieties and crop management technologies and approaches. During the last decade, Indonesia has developed a highly skilled cadre of researchers - more than 500 Indonesian researchers have trained at IRRI over the past 20 years.

Perhaps the best-known Indonesian rice dish is Nasi goreng, which means simply "fried rice". It is actually a breakfast dish, often made from the boiled rice left over from the previous night's meal.

Rice

Domesticated rice Poaceae ("true grass") family, Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. These plants are native to tropical and subtropical southern Asia and southeastern Africa. Rice provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. (The term "wild rice" can refer to the wild species of Oryza, but conventionally refers to species of the related genus Zizania, both wild and domesticated.) Rice is grown as a monocarpic annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop Rice can grow to 1–1.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm long and 2–2.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm long. The seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5–12 mm long and 2–3 mm thick.

Rice is a staple for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South and Southeast Asia, making it the second most consumed cereal grain. Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labour costs and high rainfall, as it is very labour-intensive to cultivate and requires plenty of water for cultivation.

Rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on steep hillsides. Although its species are native to South Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures.

The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields with or after setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and servicing of the water damming and channeling, but reduces the growth of lesser robust weed and pest plants and reduces vermin that has no submerged growth state. However, with rice growing and cultivation the flooding is not mandatory, whereas all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil

FIELD Indonesia

FIELD Indonesia is staffed by a team of experts who worked for 12 years with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Since 1990 this team has provided technical assistance to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs managed by the Government, NGOs, farmer associations and local communities.

The FIELD team has played a key role in the creation and application of approaches such as the Farmer Field School (FFS), Farmer-to-Farmer training, and Farmer Action Research Facilities. Approximately one million farmers graduated from FFS in Indonesia.

The current activities of FIELD include contracts with FAO, UNDP, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Government of Victoria, Australia. This work covers a number of areas including:

	capacity-building for rural livelihoods planning and action research;
	farmer training in the management of genetic resources and healthy vegetable production;
	advocacy activities relating to local governance and farmer's roles in the global food systems.

These contracts are being carried out in close cooperation with a number of groups, especially:

Farmer Trainers who are experienced in facilitating other farmers in a variety of activities such as FFS, participatory planning, field studies, farmer’s media development, action research, and advocacy

Field Leaders who work with the Ministry of Agriculture and have experience in providing consulting services to many international organizations (incl. CARE, DFID, DANIDA, and FAO) in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Indonesian IPM Farmer Association, a grass- roots organization that works in 10 provinces in Indonesia. Since 1998 this association has organized farmer-to-farmer movement, strengthen farmer-led research, and conduct advocacy on such issues as farmers rights.

Transition of Irrigation System Management in Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability

Transition of Irrigation System Management in Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability." Presented at "Constituting the Commons: Crafting Sustainable Commons in the New Millenium", the Eighth Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
This paper discusses transition of irrigation systems management in Indonesia in order to maintain sustainable benefits from its operation. Its specific focus is on reviewing the evolution of government policy regarding the role of the farmers in irrigation management, and the emphasis of the management activities, and strategies to help developed farmers' organisation. Lessons from past experience, opportunities, and challenges for sustainability is identified.

"The way irrigation has been and is being managed in Indonesia is very much under the influence of the perspectives developed at the international level. The perspective which sees irrigation as a purely technical process which then evolved to perspective which sees irrigation as socio-technical process has been the dominant perspective in the past. This paper argues that the socio-technical perspective is necessary but not sufficient to help developed programs and strategies which are supportive for the sustainability of irrigation. The experience in Indonesia tends to suggest that we need to move toward a perspective which sees irrigation as a business process to support irrigators in generating higher productive value from available water. The combination of the development of farmers' water-based business and the need for a reliable water supply would enhance the sustainability of irrigation.

"The transition from policy and program which developed based on technical perspective, then to socio- technical perspective, and moving toward irrigation as business process required reforms on the policy and strategies. The reforms efforts in the past were much more geared toward the farmers' side and less attention has been given to the reform of water related bureaucracies. This has resulted in ineffective implementation of irrigation policies and programs; specifically those related to the strengthening and development of farmers' organisation for water management and facilitating farmers' water-based business. The supply-driven logic of operation applied by the water related of the bureaucracies in implementing their programs not always in line with the application of participatory approach in developing farmers organisation.

"Indonesia has started to develop a new policy on irrigation management which is opening room for greater role of farmers' organisation and the development of farmers' water-based business. This paper will discuss the challenges and opportunities for the sustainability of irrigation under the new policy."