Where the Rice Will Grow – Revisiting Sustainable
Agriculture in Balinese Farmlands
Two Wayans, a husband and wife that are members of a farmers’
group in Selat village, Badung Regency, planted their latest
crop of rice in December. In the Balinese tradition, Ibu Wayan
planted and will harvest the rice with the help of her relatives
and fellow farmer group friends, whereas Mr Wayan does the
‘maintenance’ of their field, tending the plants,
weeding, clearing snails and so forth, as well as setting
lengths of string tied with plastic and cloth tags to flap
in the wind and hopefully frighten away hungry birds.
When the couple is ready to plant again in April, they will
be trialing a new method of rice production – one which
uses the same seed variety but has successfully yielded on
average twice the crop per area in parts of South Sulawesi
and West Java, as well as overseas. The Wayans are participating
in Bali’s first pilot of ‘SRI’, a System
of Rice Intensification that is being facilitated through
their farmers’ group and ‘subak’ (the traditional
organization for irrigation and agriculture in Balinese villages),
with technical support from Bali Organic Association (BOA)
and VECO Indonesia. The SRI requires changes to the regime
followed by rice farmers, particularly in relation to the
use of water, and these changes are being discussed and reflected
on by the farmers as part of their preparation for the trial
beginning in April.
Working with farmers is not new to VECO Indonesia, a Belgian
non-government organization (NGO) that has been based in Denpasar
since 1990. VECO stands for ‘Vredesailanden’ meaning
‘Islands of Peace’. The name was adopted after
three NGOs merged with the mission of empowering rural communities
and local institutions by promoting sustainable agriculture,
strengthening the people’s economic institutions and
advocating for farmers’ rights. Their focus has evolved
over time to include the whole development chain, from sustainable
production through to consumption.
VECO is an international NGO that receives most of its funding
from the Belgian government. The organization now works in
13 countries and in Indonesia their objective is to increase
the food security of marginalized rural populations via the
promotion of sustainable agriculture. Prior to their merger
with other NGOs in 2001, their former organization (FADO)
had been working since 1955 in Flores and later developed
programs in East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces, as well
as in Java and South Sulawesi. VECO produces an Indonesian
language magazine on sustainable agriculture called ‘Salam’
and distributes between one and two thousand copies to extension
workers, farmers’ groups and rural NGOs in eastern Indonesia.
VECO’s activities in Bali are a new initiative that
came about through their team’s feeling that it “was
not fair” to be based in Bali while they coordinated
their activities for the benefit of farmers in other parts
of the country. As VECO’s strategy is to work through
partnerships with local networks and organizations, rather
than self-implementing their projects, they have teamed up
with BOA to support BOA’s work on organic farming in
Pemutaran village (Tabanan regency) and Plaga village (Badung
regency), as well as supporting BOA and the farmers’
groups trialing the system of rice intensification (SRI) in
Selat and Penati villages (Badung regency). BOA is primarily
a voluntary organization of Balinese people committed to facilitating
‘an organic Bali’, creating new innovations with
farmers and building awareness amongst consumers, to create
a demand for organic farm products. BOA can be contacted by
telephone (7840052).
VECO’s web address is www.veco-indonesia.org and their
telephone number is 262126. For a copy of Salam magazine,
or other general information, ask for Imam. To visit the two
Wayans or find out more about the SRI trial planned with their
farmers’ group, ask for Gde Suarja or Benny.
By Lucy Mitchell
E-mail:writers@baliadvertiser.biz
