Shifting to other crops essential for Balinese

Alpha Savitri, Contributor, Denpasar

Bali is now changing. Picturesque views of green paddy fields are now gone, replaced by commercial buildings.

The flourishing tourism business makes farming no longer a popular profession, and open spaces disappear, transformed into hotels or restaurants alike.

This phenomenon has not only occurred in the island's major business areas like Denpasar and Badung, but also in most parts of the province.

Every year, it is estimated that Bali's farming land shrinks by an average of 1,000 hectares. In 1991, there were 92,062 hectares and today, only 84,118 hectares remain.

Almost all farmers in Bali grow rice. However, rice production has continued to drop -- this year's rice production sharply dropped to 50,000 tones, while in 1984 Bali's production was 75,000 tones per year. Other factors, like harvest failure and scarcity of permanent manpower to pick and gather crops, have contributed to farming's growing unpopularity.

On the other hand, the tourism sector, which is claimed to bring in dollars, is constantly treated as a prima donna. As a result, it is no surprise that many farmowners finally sell their land and use the money to finance business ventures.

Agricultural expert from Udayana University, in Bali, Nyoman Sutjipta, expressed his concern over the continued disappearance of land for farming over such a short period.

"If Bali intends to retain its green areas, then the government must pay attention and issue relevant policies to improve farmers' welfare and prevent the continued loss of farming land to commercial development," he said.

Being a tourism island, Bali is in great need of non-rice farming crops, such as vegetables and fruit. Until now, many hotels purchased vegetables and fruit from West Java or even imported them from other countries, even though Bali had great potential to produce the required products.

In his opinion, it would be better to direct Bali's farmers to plant non-rice products.

"Realistically, when you think in terms of profit and loss, I'd say we'd be better off importing rice. Imported rice is cheaper anyway. Why be obstinate and persist in planting rice if eventually we don't make any money?" said the expert, who also owns an organic farming plot in Buleleng, Bali.

Organic farming could be a promising business in Bali.

A couple, Simon Haryanto and Lili Anita, are now overwhelmed with orders from major hotels and supermarkets. The couple started planting hydroponic vegetables with some Rp 400 million of investment on their 1.5 hectare plot in Kuta.

"Hotels in Bali are good customers of our hydroponic vegetables and fruit because tourists insist on having healthy, pesticide-free products," said business marketing manager Tandori.

At supermarkets, these hydroponic vegetables are sold at prices four times greater than ordinary ones. But high prices never cease to draw customers.

Nyoman Sutjipta thinks Balinese farmers should switch to the same business as Simon and Lili.

However, he agreed that it would not be easy to persuade farmers, who have been planting rice for generations, to switch to growing non-rice commodities.

"They should learn to adjust to market demands. When the demand for rice is saturated, they should move to other crops," he said.

It is not necessary for farmers to change to the hydroponic method as it requires huge capital. They could still carry out land farming but, to meet the required pesticide-free specification, they could use, for instance, organic fertilizers.

Nyoman also offered another alternative: adopt a corporate farming concept as in the Philippines where a special manager is appointed to handle marketing, while the farmers are share owners. "The farmers don't have to bother themselves with the nitty-gritty of marketing, as a professional is available to deal with it," Nyoman Sutjipta added.

He also suggested the government turn all existing farmland into green belts, preventing the areas being lost to commercial uses. The local administration should also phase out a local rule that restricts buildings in Bali to a maximum height the same as a coconut tree -- at least in crowded areas like Kuta, to prevent the rapid loss of land in the island.

"One doesn't have to worry Bali will become less aesthetic due to tall buildings. I think Bali can copy the Gold Coast in Australia, where they have tall but artistic buildings, leaving open land untouched," Nyoman said.