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.