Farmers rejoice in rare rain<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Farmers in the drought-ridden West Java regency of Indramayu woke
\nup to a much-anticipated heavy rain on Monday, even though it
\nonly lasted one hour.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that thousands of people along the northern
\ncoastline of Java ran out of their homes to fill containers with
\nrainwater.<\/p>\n
It was a welcome surprise for Indramayu residents, who have
\nbeen feeling the heat since the arrival of a drought two months
\nago.<\/p>\n
"It could have been better for us even though the rain lasted
\njust one hour. We could fill our barrels and tanks up with water
\nfor our daily needs and water our farms and fields," said
\nSujarwo, the wife of a farmer in Kepandean village.<\/p>\n
The rain, however, was limited to the districts of Indramayu,
\nSindang, Balongan, Jatibarang, Lohbener, Losarang and
\nKandanghaur. The rest of the regency and many other parts of Java
\nremain dry.<\/p>\n
Other farmers in Indramayu, however, told Antara that the
\nbrief rain did not help the hectares of rice fields much and that
\nthe threat of no harvest remains real.<\/p>\n
"The rainwater could not satisfy the rice fields, which have
\nbeen scorched due to the water shortage," one of the farmers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Irregular rain patterns, he said, would endanger the rice
\nfields.<\/p>\n
Heavy rain also fell in the neighboring town of Cirebon on
\nSunday night.<\/p>\n
Dark clouds were seen over Cirebon, Majalengka, part of
\nIndramayu amd Kuningan on Monday afternoon, but heavy winds
\ndashed any hopes of more rain to relieve the dry soil in the
\ntowns.<\/p>\n
Farmers in Banyumas and Cilacap, Central Java have anticipated
\nthe worst effects of the excessive drought, which may dash all
\nhopes of harvesting rice this year.<\/p>\n
At least 60,000 hectares of rice fields in the two regencies
\nare facing this possibility, local authorities said.<\/p>\n
The economic and development assistant to the regency
\nadministration, Suyatno, has said that only 241 hectares of rice
\nfields were declared barren due to the drought so far, but that
\namount could reach 30,000 hectares if the dry season continues
\nuntil the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Suyatno told The Jakarta Post the local government was trying
\nto manage irrigation by allowing farmers to take turns at
\nwatering their fields. The government has also planned to dig
\ndeep wells to cope with the water shortage.<\/p>\n
The regency, he said, needed 161 more wells to help farmers
\nevade the worst impact of the long drought.<\/p>\n
In East Nusa Tenggara, local authorities have called on
\nresidents to save water following a drastic decline in the water
\nsupply recently.<\/p>\n
Head of the provincial settlement and infrastructure agency
\nPiet Djami Rebo also told farmers to adjust crops to the current
\ndry season. He suggested that farmers avoid planting rice.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/farmers-rejoice-in-rare-rain-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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