Cultivation Practices and Knowledge of Local Rice Varieties among Benuaq Farmers in Muara Lawa District West Kutai, East Kalimantan-Indonesia

Abstract

This research aim to study how Benuaq society around Muara Lawa District, manage agriculture system and internal knowledge about rice varieties. This research use ethnobotanical approach: collecting ethnobotanical data of rice varieties and traditional system of swidden cultivation. Data was obtained by using direct participatory technique by interviewing the people (key informants) about their practice and perception. The interviews were unstructured open-ended discussion on knowledge and farming activities including about diversity in rice varieties. Subsequently, quantitative data from questionnaires was combined with depth-interview data from key informants. The Benuaq indigenous systems, practices, and cultivation preferences held by the Benuaq are guarded toward maintaining their rice diversity. The Benuaq systems of upland rice cultivation, site selection for umaq establishment, plant species for fertility indicator, and cultivation of wide ranges of upland rice varieties indicate their sophisticate knowledge in agriculture. Unfortunately there has been degradation in the indigenous knowledge among the young Benuaqs.

Yield-related traits characterization of local upland rice cultivars originated from East and North Kalimantan, Indonesia

“…It becomes valuable gene repositories, which could be used for further important traits in rice breeding program. High genetic diversities of local rice cultivars have been successfully reported by Hendra et al (2009) and Nurhasanah and Sunaryo (2015). Furthermore, a large variation of several traits observed in the local rice population in East Kalimantan showed in the abundance of genetic variation (Nurhasanah et al 2016).…”

What is success? Gaps and trade-offs in assessing the performance of traditional social forestry systems in Indonesia

“…weaving, tools for ceremonial and social events, drinks and arts) (Pattinama et al, 2008). In another example within the swidden system, the Dayak people in Kalimantan managed the swidden rice field through a process of planned disturbance based on the local knowledge on forest succession process (Hendra et al, 2009). The land is left fallow for a certain time enough for the soil to recover its fertility.…”

Review: The impact of social and economic change on domesticated plant diversity with special reference to wet rice field and home-garden farming of West Java, Indonesia

“…On the basis of emphirical evidences, it is believed that the most progenitors of rice crop diversity are not laboratory, based on scientists or storage facility managers, but subsistence farmers living in communities with high level of inter-household seed exchange and intra-household seed storage (cf. Widjaja and Jessup 1986;Damus 1992Damus , 1993Soedjito 1996;Iskandar 1998;Iskandar and Ellen 1999;Oakley 2003;Setyawati 1999Setyawati , 2003Pfeiffer et al 2006;Soemarwoto 2007;Hendra et al 2009;Warsiti 2009;Rohaeni and Hastini 2015;Permana 2015;Nurhasanah and Sunaryo 2015;Kelana et al 2016). In other words, the cross-cultural traditional farmers of in many regions which have the traditional ecological knowledge embedded with their culture are those who have an important role in conserving various local rice varieties (rice landraces).…”