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Community
IPM in Tulang Bawang Udik,
Lampung
Province, Indonesia
IPM Alumni and
Field Studies
IPM
alumni have been doing field studies to increase their knowledge of IPM
and their understanding of the agroecosystem. These studies have been conducted
at their own expense. IPM alumni in two Farmers Groups in Makarti, Makmur
Farmers Group and Karya Bakti Farmers Group conducted separate studies on
the appropriate density of rice plants per hill.
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IPM Alumni
Studies Help All Farmers Increase Yields
Commonly
farmers tend to transplant more seedlings in a hill than is
optimal. The rationale
is that more plants will yield more rice. The appropriate density is
counter intuitive. Up
to a point, the fewer plants that are planted in a hill, the greater
the yield. The alumni
of Makmur and Karya Bakti Farmers Group tested planting densities
commonly used by the farmers in their village and the densities that
they had learned in Field Schools. One plot was planted
according to farmers practices, four to seven seedlings were planted
per hill. A second plot
was planted with seedlings being planted at densities of two to four
plants per hill. They
found with more seedlings planted per hill that there were indeed
more new plants that developed in each hill. However, there were more
productive tillers that developed in the less densely planted hills
and per productive tiller there were more and larger grains. Thus less densely planted
hills had greater yields than more densely planted hills.
The farmers
reasoned that this result developed because:
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Among densely planted hills plant
energy went into the development of new shoots.
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The density of plants per hill
inhibited the development of productive tillers per plant.
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Less densely planted hills
encouraged the development of productive tillers.
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Less densely planted hills were
more open to sunlight and the plants were able to convert more
energy into more and higher quality rice grains.
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This
study was conducted beginning in 1993 and repeated several
times. In Makarti
Village over 60% of the farmers are now planting at the densities
suggested by this study. |
IPM Alumni
Organising
IPM alumni have organised associations to further the
spread and development of farmer-led IPM activities. In Tulang Bawang Udik
Sub-District, Farmer IPM Trainers have created an organisation for
themselves known as Kemonggo Seto.
This organisation grew out of the Margo Rukun Farmer IPM Trainers
Association that was formed at the district level.
Margo
Rukun. In March
of 1997, Farmer IPM Trainers of Tulang Bawang District established their
own association. The following are the goals of the group.
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Strengthen the information
network among Farmer IPM Trainers and officials;
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Unite IPM alumni and
Farmer IPM Trainers throughout the district;
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Create a forum for
information exchange and problem solving related to IPM.
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Activities of the group include regular monthly meetings
of the 29 Farmer IPM Trainers and loan funds to support IPM alumni. The group has conducted IPM
promotional campaigns and has supported the creation of sub-district level
Farmer IPM Trainers and alumni associations. One specific objective is the
creation of IPM alumni groups at the village level and pesticide free rice
production.
Kemonggo
Seto. Kemonggo
Seto is a sub-district level branch of Margo Rukun. The
membership of the group includes all of the Farmer IPM Trainers of Tulang
Bawang Udik Sub-district. The
group was established in July of 1997. Halifan
Juwadi is the chair of the group. Goals of
the group include:
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To establish alumni
associations in the villages of Tulang Bawang Udik.
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To establish a loan
fund.
Each member pays a one time only membership fee of Rp 5000 and
monthly dues of Rp 1000. The
money will be used to provide loans to membership of Kemonggo Seto.
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To create a forum for
sharing field study results.
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To create farmer media
like brochures, a newspaper, or a farmers theatre.
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To produce and market
pesticide-free rice.
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Kemonggo Seto has already established a loan fund that
is fully paid up. The group
holds regular monthly meetings that function as a forum for the discussion
of field problems and the sharing of field study results. The group also conducts a “carnival day” on each 17
August, Independence Day.
Activities include a parade and games. Alumni prepare posters, banners
and T-shirts to promote IPM.
Kemonggo Seto has also helped its members to plan and organise IPM
alumni groups. IPM
alumni groups are now active in many of the villages of the
sub-district. See the profile
of Ngarianto for an example of a village alumni group.
Pesticide Credit
Package Refused
As the 1996-1997 main planting season approached,
farmers that needed it, had
to sign up the credit package of the Village Co-operative Unit in Tulang
Bawang Udik. While not a
formal rule of the co-operative system in Indonesia, almost every
co-operative in the country had, for as long as they existed, regularly
supplied pesticides as part of the credit package. A farmer signing up for the
credit package signed up for the whole set of inputs without questioning
why that was the way things were done. A farmer had to accept the seeds,
fertilisers, and pesticides and that was that. At the end of the season he paid
off his loan, usually by selling his rice to the co-operative.
By late 1996 there was a considerable number of IPM
farmers in Tulang Bawang Udik and 15 Farmer IPM Trainers who were
beginning to examine how they might organise themselves. IPM alumni were asking themselves
and others the question that had never been asked, “Why do we have to take
pesticides as part of the Village Co-operative Unit credit package?” Farmers who had for several
seasons done without pesticides, but
who had been forced to take pesticides they didn’t want (which they
sold to other farmers), decided that it was time to test the co-operative
by proposing an alternative.
The alternative proposed by IPM alumni was a simple one. Rather than take the pesticides
they proposed that they would accept not an “in kind” credit package, but cash and use the
money to purchase their inputs from the co-operative.
The manager of the co-operative was open minded on the
matter. A form of the
original proposal was accepted after discussions between the manager and
Farmer IPM Trainers who led the movement. The agreement reached was that
farmers could receive credit in the form of cash for everything except
fertilisers, this input had to be taken on an in kind basis.
Pesticide Kiosks
Close
If there were a newspaper in Tulang Bawang
Udik, the
above heading would have been on the front page of one of the annual
summaries in the business section during the past several years. Of the
12 pesticide kiosks in the sub-district at the beginning of the 1990’s,
four have closed and the rest are suffering. Sekam
Tani, Cahaya Lampung, and two independent salesmen have closed their
businesses. Another
kiosk, Sumber Tani, reports a drastic reduction of sales. In
Margomulyo there are three kiosks who report the same trend, Kiosk
Ngudijaya, RK III, Dewi Sari III Village Co-operative Unit, and Kiosk
Joko, RK II. Dewi
Sari opened in 1993 before there were any Field Schools in
Margomulyo. 1994 was
a good year for Dewi Sari, but it was their last. By 1995
Field Schools were being implemented in Margomulyo and by 1996 the
co-operative was no longer selling pesticides.
Ngudijaya reports drastic drops in sales of all pesticides since it
began in 1991. Joko,
which started in 1987, is now only selling pesticides for use in
vegetables.
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