Dry spel another blow to hard-hit Gunungkidul

By Dini S. Djalal

YOGYAKARTA (JP): It was a typically busy afternoon for 25-year-old Sumbrono. As a government-administered water pump operator at Tepus, Gunungkidul, about 60 kilometers east of Yogyakarta, he spends his day pouring out barrels of water for the 600 farmers inundating his well.

"Some families walk from five kilometers away," Sumbrono said. "On average, they collect water from here up to five times a day. They have to, because there's not enough water."

Tepus is a modest, sun-parched village, one of 38 in the region affected by the drought plaguing the entire country.

For the last two months, cries of "not enough water" have been heard from farmers dreaming of irrigated fields, to Jakarta millionaires lounging poolside at their mansions.

From Aceh to Ujungpandang, people are trying to deal with the worst dry season in 50 years, and the calamity strikes through status.

"The drought may not hit the middle-class as severely as the farmers, but it affects them too. Jakarta is rationing its water use," said Emmy Hafild, director of the environmental group Walhi.

The water shortage shows little sign of easing.

El Nino, the six-month-old warming of ocean currents causing flooding in South America and the drought here, is expected to continue into the new year, delaying rains for three months.

These are rains desperately needed by rice farmers across Java, and producers of coffee in Sumatra, cocoa in Sulawesi, and tea in Java -- crops in danger of failing by the end of the year.

Coffee production is expected to drop 30 percent this year, while 300,000 hectares of rice paddys have gone dry.

To make matters worse, the threat of harvest failure is compounded by the rupiah devaluation crisis. Analysts who predicted Indonesia would import 300,000 tons of corn to alleviate food shortages now say importers may wait until they can afford the purchase. Domestic corn prices have swollen 20 percent. The rice has also shot up to Rp 1,000 per kilogram.

Pressure to meet subsistence needs will likely impact on the cities, which promise quick incomes for the hardest hit.

"The drought can affect the macroeconomy in many ways, least of all by crowding our cities with migrants looking for jobs. That's an immense accumulation of strain and tension," said Pande Silalahi, an economist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The government has pledged more aid, at least on paper. In mid-August, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a US$2 billion plan to help drought-stricken farmers. But it was in the form of seedlings, to be administered by the provincial government, rather than grassroots-organized water relief.

More recently, Minister of Agriculture Syarifuddin Baharsyah promised to bring artificial rain should October be dry.

Meanwhile, Beddu Amang, head of the National Logistics Agency, insisted that rice imports were unnecessary, claiming that three million tons of rice were available at storehouses to allay any threat of famine.

Gold for water

That the potential for famine was alluded to at all reflects the gravity of the situation.

Some are profiting. Everyday, the bustling gold shops at district town Wonosari see farmers lined up selling their precious trinkets. "They sell them cheap too, they're that desperate," says a storeowner. They use the cash for water, sold now for up to Rp 25,000. One tank lasts two weeks per family.

Sob stories are common in Gunungkidul, notorious for its poverty.

Gunungkidul has little nonagricultural industry, and few pockets of commerce. It's here, in this area left behind in the fast-paced development, that some of the country's poorest live. Drought strikes every two years.

Now, only five of the area's 262 lakes and streams have flowing water, and it is dirty water at that.

"That whole area is chronic for water shortages. This year it's worse, but the impact will be on the family economy, draining the family's accumulated capital," said Loekman Sutrisno, head of rural and regional studies at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.

Loekman warned that the specter of the poor becoming poorer was real.

"When there's a drought, farmers start to eat into their own savings. Those living above the poverty line can suddenly live below it," he said.

Yet chronic poverty means hardened lives. The Javanese are famed for their tenacity against adversity, and the people at Gunungkidul are no exception. But their famed resilience can also numb national concern.

"Farmers here are used to suffering. They usually find other means of income or change their patterns of consumption. They're resistant to hardship," says Pande Silalahi.

Forty-five year-old Pawirodikromo of Laus village, one of the most remote villages in southern Gunungkidul, symbolizes this will to persevere. She has not reaped a harvest in seven months -- corn, rice or cassava -- and rations the water the local government sends in by truck.

Everyday he gathers seaweed under a scorching sun for a meager cash income. Apprehension occasionally surfaces -- "I'm afraid it won't rain at all," she said warily -- but she insists that, thanks to government dropping of water, the situation is fine.

Solutions

Farmers may be content with water dropping, which is costing the local government Rp 14 million (US$4,667), but analysts say the crisis needs more substantial solutions.

On the national level, for example, Pande Silalahi points out the importance of short-term remedies such as a reliable food distribution network. "Nothing should impede it," he said. Silalahi adds that government depots of food stocks should be prepared to meet the farmers' needs, so that "prices won't run uncontrolled".

Longer-term cures involve more attention to the agricultural sector, once the country's main pillar of development. Indonesia used to herald its food self-sufficiency -- now announcements of further food importation are as frequent as factory launchings. Setting aside productive land for industry has led to declining productivity in the non-rice agricultural sector, explained Silalahi, while demand is swiftly rising.

"We seem to have relaxed too quickly following our achievements in rice self-sufficiency. We became unwatchful of the potential problems," he said.

A keener eye to macroeconomic agricultural policy may ease future droughts. Yet specific areas require customized solutions. In the case of Gunungkidul, Loekman Sutrisno says that more money should be given to dig up deep wells and bring water onto the surface -- water he claims lay abundant in the earth.

The upland agriculture which dominates Gunungkidul should also be given greater attention, Loekman added, as development projects of the last two decades have largely bypassed this component of rural income.

"Here we can talk about discrimination. Most rural investment goes into lowland areas, in rice production, so upland agriculture is neglected. Then the government suddenly realizes that this neglect jeopardizes their investment in the lowlands, because upland communities send their soil to the dams," he said.

Emmy Hafild agrees that land degradation must be addressed in order to prevent future droughts. "We should be able to reduce erosion, the siltation of rivers and lakes. We should be able to prevent the conversion of lakes to other purposes. We should be able to reforest some water catchment areas," said Emmy.

Key is political will, she says, calling for the government to be more serious about solving the problem.