Drought to hit 40,000 ha of crops in Indramayu<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Indramayu, West Java<\/p>\n
The head of West Java's Indramayu regency irrigation office,
\nRahardjo, said on Friday that the continuing dry season would
\nseriously affect farming in the 40,000-hectare regency.<\/p>\n
He said that water reserves would only last another month.<\/p>\n
\"If the weather does not change, the water reserves in the
\nRentang Dam will only last until mid-July. The harvest period,
\nwhich is expected to come at the end of July, may end in
\nfailure,\" Rahardjo said, referring to a dam located at nearby
\nMajalengka regency.<\/p>\n
He added that the volume of water in Cimanuk River, which
\nsupplies Rentang Dam in Majalengka, had declined from normal
\nlevels of 170 cubic meters per second to 5.6 cubic meters per
\nsecond.<\/p>\n
\"Indeed, the water must be distributed to the three regencies
\nof Indramayu, Cirebon and Majalengka itself,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Indramayu, the supply of water will be used to irrigate
\n40,000 of the total 65,000 hectares of cultivated land. The
\nremaining 25,000 hectares will be irrigated using water from
\nJatiluhur Dam in Purwakarta regency.<\/p>\n
Head of the Indramayu office of the Ministry of Agriculture,
\nKusnomo Tamkani, revealed that farmers were worried about
\npotential crop failure.<\/p>\n
If there is no rain in the next days, they said, the water
\nreserves will not be enough to sustain irrigation until the
\nharvest season between July and August.<\/p>\n
A farmer in the village of Tersana, Kertasemaya subdistrict,
\nin Indramayu, Moch. Nurudin, 43, said local farmers planted paddy
\nlast May and expected the harvest season to be between July and
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
\"But, the harvest season will only arrive if there is
\nsufficient water,\" Nurudin said.<\/p>\n
Based on the records of the Agriculture office in Indramayu
\nregency, there are now about 7,595 hectares of cultivated land in
\na critical condition and 17,000 hectares that have been hit by
\ndrought.<\/p>\n
Severe drought has hit 11 subdistricts in coastal areas of
\nKroya, Kandanghaur, Gabuswetan, Losarang, Lohbener, Karangampel,
\nJuntinyuat, Krangkeng, Indramayu, Sindang, and Balongan.<\/p>\n
\"This is the worst drought since the El Nino phenomenon in
\n1996 and 1997,\" Kusnomo said.<\/p>\n
Rahardjo said that in an attempt to meet the needs of the
\nfarmers, his office had outlined the schedule of irrigation since
\nMay 23.<\/p>\n
He said water was being distributed via two main canals at
\nSindupraja and Cipelang for the areas to the east and west of
\nCimanuk River respectively.<\/p>\n
Rahardjo emphasized, however, that the schedule was only
\napplicable as long as the water reserves remained available.<\/p>\n
If water reserves run dry, he said, he planned to establish
\nwells or ask the Agency for the Technology Assessment and
\nApplication (BPPT) to artificially induce clouds to accumulate
\nand rain to fall.<\/p>\n
But, the latter alternative is difficult to apply because, \"it
\nneeds huge amounts of money to create artificial rain,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/drought-to-hit-40000-ha-of-crops-in-indramayu-1447893297",
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