Drought-hit farmers request cloud seeding

Drought-hit farmers request cloud seeding

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Indramayu, West Java

As the prolonged drought continues to worsen -- already
threatening crop failure in Indramayu regency, one of West Java's
main rice producers -- local farmers urged the government on
Wednesday to start cloud seeding in order to prevent their rice
farms from drying up.

They said cloud seeding would be an effective measure to
immediately tackle the drought currently hitting more than 21,000
hectares of rice field.

The farms worst affected include those in the subdistricts of
Sukra, Haurgeluis, Kroya, Krangkeng, Cantigi, Juntinyuat,
Balongan, Arahan, Losarang and Kandanghaur.

M. Jamal, a 48-year-old farmer in Kandanghaur, admitted he and
other villagers were frustrated by the drought.

"We have made several attempts to address the problem by
pumping groundwater or river water nearby, but they have all been
futile as the amount produced has been very small," he said.

Robadin, a 40-year-old villager in Balongan, had a similar
grievance. "Rich farmers try to overcome water shortages by
pumping water, but the effort is still fruitless because of
limited water availability from rivers."

Moreover, it cost a lot of money to irrigate rice fields using
river water as farmers had to buy pumping equipment and other
items such as fuel and tubes, he said.

"Low-income farmers can rent pumping equipment, but it is also
very expensive. The cheapest rental is Rp 60,000 per hour. That
does not include the cost of fuel," Robadin added.

He and Jamali said the government should intervene to provide
relief for farmers. "Who else can help us except the government?
Farmers are no longer able to shoulder this burden," Jamali said.

Another farmer, Marjuki, 53, from Sukra subdistrict, was of a
similar opinion and said cloud seeding would be the most
effective way of irrigating drought-hit rice fields quickly.

"I think that other approaches are ineffective because the
supply from a number of water sources has long since dried up,"
he said.

The call to start cloud seeding received support from
Indramayu legislative council, which said the move would be an
effectively way of preventing crop failure in the regency.

Council speaker Iwan Hendrawan promised to discuss the issue
with the Indramyu regent. "We shall forward the farmers' request
to the regent. It will be our priority for discussion as it
relates to the interests of tens of thousands of farmers in
Indramayu."

However, the problem is likely to focus on whether or not
funds have been allocated from the regency budget to finance
cloud seeding, he added.

Meanwhile, Indramyu Regent Irianto MS Syafiuddin apparently
rejected the farmers' proposal for cloud seeding, saying his
administration was focusing on plans to build a reservoir to
accommodate as much water as possible, so as to prevent more
droughts in the future.

"The dam is planned to be built, as supplies from Bendung
Rentang reservoir in Majalengka regency and Jatiluhur dam in
Purwakarta regency are not enough, particularly during the dry
season," he said.

Irianto said the project would cost Rp 109 billion, Rp 88
billion of which was earmarked from Indramayu's budget, while the
remaining Rp 21 billion would be provided by the West Java
administration.