The Integrated Cropping Calendar Information System: A Coping Mechanism to Climate Variability for Sustainable Agriculture in Indonesia

Abstract

Climate change and its variability are some of the most critical threats to sustainable agriculture, with potentially severe consequences on Indonesia’s agriculture, such as changes in rainfall patterns, especially the onset of the wet season and the temporal distribution of rainfall. Most Indonesian farmers receive support from agricultural extension services, and therefore, design their agricultural calendar based on personal experience without considering global climate phenomena, such as La Niña and El Niño, which difficult to interpret on a local scale. This paper describes the Integrated Cropping Calendar Information System (ICCIS) as a mechanism for adapting to climate variability. The ICCIS contains recommendations on planting time, cropping pattern, planting area, varieties, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, potential livestock feed, and crop damage due to climate extremes for rice, maize, and soybean. To accelerate the dissemination of information, the ICCIS is presented in an integrated web-based information system. The ICCIS is disseminated to extension workers and farmers by Task Force of the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIAT) located in each province. Based on the survey results, it is known that the ICCIS adoption rate is moderate to high. The AIAT must actively encourage and support the ICCIS Task Force team in each province. Concerning the technological recommendations, it is necessary to update the recommendations for varieties, fertilizer, and feed to be more compatible with local conditions. More accurate information and more intensive dissemination can enrich farmers’ knowledge, allowing for a better understanding of climate hazards and maintaining agricultural production.

Integrating Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge for Decision Making of Rice Farming in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…The ICCIS provides recommendations on planting time, cropping pattern, planting area, varieties, fertilizers, farm machinery, potential food, and crop damage due to extreme conditions for rice, maize, and soybeans, for the upcoming planting season. The ICCIS analyzed the planting time and seeded area for all Indonesian regions using water balance calculations and precipitation forecasts for the next 6 months [46]. The ICCIS is accessible at https://katam.litbang.pertanian.go.id/ (accessed on 2 December 2021).…”

“…Researchers of BPTP are members of the task force team of the ICCIS. The task force team is responsible for disseminating the ICCIS to farmers and extension workers, in collaboration with other agencies in the regions, such as the BMKG, extension offices, and agricultural offices [46].…”

“…The ICCIS is also equipped with information to support the agriculture system and minimize climate hazards. The information includes (a) fertilizer recommendations, (b) agricultural machinery availability, (c) potential livestock feed, (d) potential crops damaged due to flood, drought, pests, and diseases, and (e) variety recommendations [46]. The same information is discussed in the Tudang Sipulung to decide the planting time and rice farming practices for the upcoming growing season.…”

Evaluating and Adapting Climate Change Impacts on Rice Production in Indonesia: A Case Study of the Keduang Subwatershed, Central Java

“…Appropriate adaptation strategies typically differ from one location to another due to regional climate effects, which need to be reviewed [65,66]. Current rice transplanting dates are around the third week of November to the first week of December (wet season), the third week of March to the first week of April (first dry season), and the third week of July to the first week of August (second dry season) [67]. We propose shifting the planting date earlier in the year for all three growing seasons (the fourth week of October to the first week of November for the wet season, the fourth week of February to the first week of March for the first dry season, and the fourth week of June to the first week of July for second dry season), which will coincide with the start of the rainy season in early October.…”

Adaptive Garlic Farming on Climate Change and Variability in Lombok

“…Agriculture is a vulnerable sector to climate change due to the impact on cropping patterns, planting time, and yield quality (Apriyana et al, 2021;Duku et al, 2018;Parker et al, 2019). On Lombok island, there has been a shift in wet and dry months from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 to 2008 leading to a prolonged dry season (Nandini and Narendra, 2011).…”