Dry spel another blow to hard-hit Gunungkidul

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.