Drought haunts Malang farmers

Drought haunts Malang farmers

Indra Harsaputra, Malang, East Java

Like other areas across the archipelago, the dry season will soon
begin in the East Java town of Malang. The dry season poses a
threat for farmers whose crops may perish due to a shortage of
water.

Head of the Malang Irrigation Office Subandiyah Azis said that
farmers in at least two subdistricts in Malang would almost
certainly be badly affected during the dry season, due to the
limited water reserves and poor distribution of water. The two
subdistricts are Purwodadi and Pujiharjo.

"We have to strengthen river banks and dams in the area so
that they can retain more water. If the work cannot be done
immediately, water shortages may pose a threat to the planting of
crops and plants in the Malang municipality," she said.

The river banks and dams in Malang were damaged after recent
floods.

These include Tundo River in Tirtoyudo district in Malang,
which was damaged at the end of 2003. Sections of the river banks
collapsed after major flooding in the area, causing it to flow
freely and thereby reducing the volume of water flowing into the
dam.

Second, the damage has made water distribution uneven. Farmers
whose land is located near the river banks are able to get more
water, compared to other farmers, whose land is located far from
the damaged river banks.

Sadly, chances are slim that the river banks and the dams will
be reconstructed immediately, because the Malang government has
yet to allocate a fund in the budget, Subandiyah admitted. "The
Malang government is seeking funds from the central government,"
said Subandiyah, adding that at least Rp 30 billion (US$
3,750,000) was needed to rebuild the river banks and the dams in
the municipality ahead of the dry season.

The fund will be used to rebuild the banks of the Tirtoyudo
River, Kalianyep dam that irrigates 50 hectares of land and
Nguprit dam that irrigates 70 hectares of paddy fields.

"The sluices of the two dams are heavily damaged and cannot
function properly," she said.

She also said that her office was looking into alternative
crops to rice for farmers to plant in order to cope with the
imminent drought.

"We will talk to the farmers to seek a solution in case the
drought is severs and they will be forced to abandon their paddy
fields. If this really happens, we will propose that they plant
alternative crops or plants, which are more resistant to dry
conditions, such as breadfruit or avocado," she said.