Food crisis in East Nusa Tenggara avoidable
Food crisis in East Nusa Tenggara avoidable
Antara, Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), an area of 47,349 square kilometers with an arid climate, has suffered a food crisis this year due to low rainfall triggered by a shortened rainy season.
The dry season takes place about nine months in a year from April to November and the rainy season is only three months a year, from December to March.
The characteristics and condition of the region, with all its shortcomings, have become a challenge and a problem for the provincial administration and the people in nearly all sectors of development. The region, vulnerable to natural disasters, and constantly hit by a number of extraordinary occurrences such as the prolonged drought, pest invasions on Sumba island and areas bordering with East Timor, and the spread of rabies on Flores and Lembata islands, have definitely had an impact on the socio- economic lives of the local populace.
According to the vice regent of Belu, Gregor Mau Bili Fernandez, there are at least two pressing problems facing all regental administrations in NTT; the high poverty rate and the low productivity of its people.
Based on data from the local family planning board, there are at least 50,289 poor families in Belu regency.
"One of the factors is the ineffectual use of technology in the agricultural sector. The people lack the initiative to grow alternative crops to support their earnings," said Fernandez in Atambua recently.
He said that due to the drought this year, a total of 1,879 hectares of corn and rice plantations in four districts of Belu had failed to reach maturity. As a result, about 1,013 tons of rice and 16,321 tons of corn could not be salvaged.
Head of the Sikka Agricultural Office on Flores island Markus Meo said that the projected data on food crops showed that five of the 11 districts facing harvest failure now were Paga, Lela, Kawapante, Bola and Alok.
It is predicted that about 2,709 tons of rice, 1,801 tons of gogo rice (from non-irrigated rice fields) and 10,039 tons of corn will not be harvested due to the water shortage.
"Despite of that, there are still rice stocks ready at the provincial logistics agency (Dolog) for emergency situations. Some 1,483 tons of rice will be provided in the form of cheap rice by the special market operation (OPK), and 1,254 tons of food supplies from outside the region, not including supplies from the livestock, farming and fishery sectors," said Markus.
Belu Vice Regent Fernandez said that in a food crisis like this, residents need not eat rice only but could opt for edible roots. The administration will overcome the problem by implementing the program of cheap rice for the poor.
But the practice will not be a sustainable one as residents will tend not to work their land, he said.
A community figure in Sasita Mean district, Arnoldus Asa, said that residents had already planted corn in the previous planting season but had faced water shortages due to the drought.
"Even though the rainfall is starting to become normal, it is already too late now because corn and some rice crops have already died. There is no other choice because the residents are used to growing rice and corn during every planting season," said Arnoldus.
An advocate for the farmers, Father Urbanus Hala, acknowledged that it was no easy task to urge residents to plant crops other than corn and rice.
They are already accustomed to monocultural methods and cultivate a few hectares of land just to meet a year's supply of food. "We have encouraged them not to depend on corn and rice only but benefit from the vast idle plots of land by growing alternative crops. If they fail to plant and harvest, they can sell the produce to buy food for their families," said Urbanus.
"We will empower agribusiness methods starting from what the farmers possess, and pay special attention to the environment, socio-cultural, economic and local values, justness and human aspects," he said.