Hundreds of Hectares of Rice Fields in Majalengka Suffer Crop Failure and Burn Due to Drought

Hundreds of hectares of rice fields in Mekarjaya Village, Kertajati District, Majalengka Regency, West Java, have suffered crop failure due to drought. Farmers are hoping for government efforts to address the conditions they frequently encounter during the dry season.

A local farmer, Casmita, stated that the drought is a result of the lack of rainfall over the past 1.5 months. This condition has also caused Situ Cijingga, the primary irrigation source for the area, to run dry.

“The rice fields here are extremely dry,” Casmita said on Saturday (1/8/2026).

Casmita explained that the drought began just as the rice plants were starting to grain. Consequently, the grain-filling process was disrupted, eventually causing the plants to wither and die.

“It should be harvest time now, but we have ultimately failed due to the lack of water; we haven’t received any water at all,” Casmita lamented.

Casmita is not alone; other farmers in the village are facing the same predicament. They are forced to endure the bitter reality of seeing crops that were expected to generate income instead wither away.