A significant change is happening in Pringsewu, an Indonesian farming community where rice farmers are now moving towards organic rice farming, with exciting results and better returns.
Our organic rice farmers are selling for Rp. 20.000 per kg, while the conventional rice sells for only Rp. 12.000 per kg. (Khairul, Researcher, Pringsewu)
The transformation to organic farming started more than a decade ago by Khairul, a local researcher from Pringsewu, and as the project has developed researchers from BRIN (Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency) and the local university, Politeknik Negeri Lampung (Polinela) have come onboard. The ASEAN FAW Action Plan had the chance in September to film how Pringsewu farmers have moved from conventional rice farming to practising organic farming and to understand more about the role women and men farmers have played in this transition.
A key technology Pringsewu farmers use is BBM Ghaly, an organic fertilizer developed by Khairul, BRIN, and Polinela to replace conventional fertilizers, which are becoming costly and difficult to access. It requires only a small dosage but remains highly effective in boosting crop productivity. It allows for dense rice planting without reducing crop yields. Consistent application of this fertilizer in rice fields has shown that after more than five uses, the fields remain fertile and productive without chemical fertilizers
With such good results, the hope is that production of this locally-made fertilizer can be scaled up for use by more farmers in Indonesia. Research partners like the University of Lampung have already provided 150 ha in Pringsewu for organic rice production and further development and feasibility studies on the fertilizer. BRIN is also partnering in the project to support organic farming efforts.
As filming by the ASEAN FAW Action Plan kicked off in September, project partners met with Dr Marindo Kurniawan, the Acting Regent of Pringsewu and Mr Dodi Bahar Fathory, S.T, the head of the Business Development Center of Pringsewu to discuss how local government can support this initiative and Dr Marindo gave his strong support for the work.
"We also hope there will be a follow-up in the coming months, between the Pringsewu Regency Government, BRIN, and the founder/ researcher of BBM Ghaly fertilizer, Khairul, to support this effort further." Dr. Marindo Kurniawan, Acting Regent of Pringsewu
Dr Kurniawan also mentioned that a formal partnership between the Pringsewu government and BRIN could help develop organic farming further. In addition, Khairul and the BRIN team are being encouraged to create a long-term plan, including a business plan for developing organic rice farming and the BBM Gholy fertilizer.
More opportunities to support farmers with the transition to organic farming also arose at filming when in a meeting with BRIN, local university Polinela offered 50 hectares of land towards the project.
BRIN researchers are also looking at the different roles of men and women farmers in deciding why they may switch to organic farming or not. Dr Danarsi Diptaningsari (Researcher at the Food Crop Research Center of BRIN), who leads the gender study in Organic and Non-Organic Rice Farming in Lampung, Indonesia, is a participant in a new 6-month course under the ASEAN FAW Action Plan building new skills on understanding gender dynamics in agriculture. As part of the program, Dr Diptaningsari is working with Dr Apri Laila Sayekti and Rika Reviza Rachmawati (researcher at the Research Center for Behavioral and Circular Economics of BRIN), to undertake research to better understand how to support men and women farmers organic rice farming.
Filming hasn't finished on this series yet - with the video team back in the field talking to farmers post the rice harvest in mid-October. But farmers participating in the filming were hugely positive about the experience and shared they were excited to have the opportunity to show what they were working on with a wider audience - with the hope that their efforts on organic rice farming in Pringsewu can be developed further and be of interest to other farmers who may want to move in this direction.
Watch this space for the launch of the ASEAN FAW Action Plan video series in late October.
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