Suko goes against the grain with his organic fertilizer
Suko goes against the grain with his organic fertilizer
by Heru Prasetya
MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): A simple man of 63 years whose
formal education stopped at junior high school, Suko traveled to
Jakarta in March to meet Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
He was honored with the Kehati award for his efforts in
cultivating mina padi -- a system of rice growing where fish are
also reared in wet fields -- and his development of an organic
fertilizer.
"I'd never been to Jakarta before. I was trembling and scared
when I used an elevator for the first time in my life," he said
at his house in Kenteng hamlet, Mangunsari village in Magelang.
But Suko, or Mbah Suko as he is known by locals, is one of the
few farmers who resisted the government's program dating back to
1970 to substitute local rice with what it termed a pest-
resistant "superior variety".
The drive also led to the replacement of traditional organic
fertilizer with chemical pesticide. The program continued in 1980
with the Special Instruction/Pre-Special Instruction (Insus/Pra
Insus).
The government told farmers like Suko that the programs would
enable them to harvest more rice of higher quality.
But Suko said that, in reality, the opposite was true. The
rice was harder and more easily spoiled compared to local strains
of rice, soil quality deteriorated and insects, which were a help
in controlling pests, disappeared with the introduction of
pesticide.
Nearly all the land here is now dry and difficult to
cultivate, he said.
"There are also people who have asked for permits to leave
their land to dry up because it became too difficult to
cultivate. In Kenteng subdistrict around 30 hectares of land has
dried up," Suko explained.
Suko and two other residents, Teguh and Tarmuji, decided they
would return to traditional techniques. Suko cultivated a local
type of glutinous rice on Teguh's 0.8 hectare of land, along with
carp in the fields. Along with several other residents, they
began using manure instead of chemical pesticide.
On Oct. 22, 1989, they set up a group called the Kelompok Mino
Suryo Ngudi Raharjo. Several other surrounding villages have also
imitated the 22-member group's technique of mina padi and are
using organic fertilizer.
Each member of Kelompok Mino Suryo Ngudi Raharjo has an
average 0.5 hectare of land, all of which use the mina padi
system. Every 1,000 square meters gives them 300 kilograms of
milled dried unhulled paddy at a price of Rp 2,000.
Sometimes the farmers vary the local strain of rice with the
government's rice. They also collect fish four times every
planting season.
Fertilizer
The main ingredient in the organic fertilizer is rabbit urine
which has been kept for 30 days in a closed, shaded place.
One part of the urine is mixed with four parts water, if it is
to be used to fertilize rice fields, and six parts water for use
on vegetable crops.
Rabbit feces are also used. The droppings are mixed with water
and left to stand for three days in a container, such as a jerry
can. Compost is also made from brain, traditional chili-shrimp
paste (terasi), water and cow manure.
According to two group members, Sunar and Warju, mina padi and
organic fertilizer are actually legacies from former generations,
stopped with the Soeharto government rulings.
They consider Suko a hero for bringing back traditional
practices and helping local farmers.
"Mbah Suko is the one preserving the inheritance," Sunar said.
"The mina padi provides us additional income as well as
reducing plant disease. The fish prey on insects, normally
considered pests, that live under the rice stalks," Warju added.