Organic Farming for Rice Intensification

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1.6. Novelty

Novelty of this research is the utilization and modification of some fundamental models previously developed by other researchers. Verhulst’s growth model can be used to make predictions of population growth, trend of change of land-use and productivity of rice. Cobb-Douglas production function can be developed with new variables in order to calculate the rice production and profitability. These models can be used in the analysis on the sustainability of agricultural development in general.

1.7. Literature Review

1.7.1. Organic Farming for Rice Intensification

Development of SRI The SRI method was developed by Fr. Henri de Laulanie, S.J., a Jesuit priest, in the early 1980s. He came to Madagascar in 1961 from France and spent more than 30 years of his life in that country. He worked with Malagasy farmers to improve their agricultural systems, particularly in rice production, as rice is the staple food of the country population. Before he died in June, 1995, Laulanie published one article on SRI in the Journal Tropicultura in 1993 Berkelaar 2006; DISIMP 2006. Laulanie established an agricultural vocational school in 1981 to help rural youths receive an education relevant to their family or community needs. In 1990, he together with a number of Malagasy colleagues established an indigenous non-governmental organization NGO called Association Tefy Saina ATS tefy saina in Malagasy means to improve mind. This NGO works with farmers, agricultural professionals and other NGOs to improve to improve production and livelihood. In 1994, ATS began working with the CIIFAD to promote SRI around the Ranomafana National Park in eastern Madagascar, supported by the USAID. This project helped the farmers around the area to find alternatives to their slash-and burn agriculture, which endangered the precious rain forest ecosystems Berkelaar 2006. 7 Principles of SRI The SRI practices for paddy cultivation now being recommended to farmers in Indonesia, particularly in West Java, can be categorized as organic rice farming. No chemical fertilizers are used; instead, manures and biomass are used either in its natural condition, or in the forms of compost or bokashi. The main reason for using organic fertilizers is “cheaper”, readily available and environmentally friendly. Organic fertilizers are also claimed as having the effect of improving soil condition including soil structure Gardjito et al. 2006. Basically, the concept of SRI comprises certain management practices for intensive and efficient paddy rice cultivation. The management practices involve transplanting method and management of soil, nutrient and water which provide better rice plants conditions, particularly in the root zone. This method is different from the traditional one with constant field flooding that has been practiced by Asian farmers for thousands of years. It should be noted that paddy is not aquatic plant but it needs water more in the right time Berkelaar 2006; DISIMP 2006. Four principles of SRI in paddy cultivation are: 1 Early transplanting of seedlings, i.e., between 10 and 15 days old when the first two leaves have emerged from the initial tiller or stalk, 2 Seedlings are planted singly rather in clumps in order that individual plants have room to spread and to send down roots, 3 Seedlings are planted in a wide spacing square pattern with plenty of space between them to grow and easy weeding at least 25 x 25 cm, and 4 Periodically intermittent irrigation in order that the soil are both moist and aerated at least during the vegetative growth period, where aerated soil provides aerobic and anaerobic bacteria an opportunity to contribute to plant growth. These four practices are different from those traditionally practiced by farmers so far Berkelaar 2006; DISIMP 2006. There are two other practices that are very beneficial and not controversial when using SRI since they have been long recognized as valuables for crops. The two practices are weeding and fertilizing. At least two or three weeding are recommended, in which, the first weeding should be done ten to twelve days after transplanting and the second weeding within fourteen days. Another one or two weeding can significantly increase the yield. Fertilizing in SRI was initially using 8 chemical fertilizers especially on the very poor soils. Due to some constraints, the recommendation on fertilizing switched to the use of compost, with even better results were observed. Compost adds nutrient to the soil slowly and can also contribute to a better soil structure DISIMP 2006. By applying the SRI practices properly, it is claimed that rice plants have many more tillers, greater root development, and more grains per panicle. Hence, SRI methods have at least doubled the yields of any variety of rice that has been tried. However, farmers have to have an open mind to adopt new methods and a willingness to experiment. It might take some years to get confidence that these methods could consistently raise production so substantially Gardjito et al. 2006. Sustainability Many studies on agricultural sustainability have been conducted and published. The term sustainability used in this research topic related to the definition used in the sustainable development in general, but limited to certain local condition. One definition states that sustainable development is defined as balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. Conceptually, the field of sustainable development can be broken into four constituent parts, i.e., environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, social sustainability and political sustainability Wikipedia Encyclopedia 2007. Agricultural sustainability in general implies the production of food and fiber with a mission to guarantee ecological stability, economic viability and socio-cultural permanence Lal 1991 in Sands Podmore 2000. Sustainability has become one of the forefront issues faced by agriculture. However, it continues to remain an ill-defined concept. Current literature still struggles with developing and refining the concept. Sands and Podmore 2000 conducted a study on sustainability index for agricultural systems. The objective of the index was to provide a modeling-based, i.e., quantitative measure of sustainability from an environmental perspective comprising both on- and off-site environmental effects associated with agricultural stems. According to Singh et al. 2009, sustainability indicators and composite index are increasingly recognized as a useful tool for 9 policy making and public communication in conveying information on countries and corporate performance in fields such as environment, economy, society, or technological improvement. The indicators simplify, quantify, analyze and communicate otherwise complex and complicated information. Good agricultural systems should be able to develop sustainable farming which depends on the development of production systems able to reduce soil erosion, improve physical and biological soil fertility and of course increase farmer’s income Dogliotti et al. 2005. Poor management of the livestock waste can generate increasing rate of pollution, including the emergence of conflicts with other activities, such as tourism, due to nuisance smells. Therefore, mastering the management of livestock wastes is deemed necessary by local authorities. Agronomic research was thus required to help farmers and extensionists to find ways of matching the supply of organic matter from livestock to the demand of crops, both within and between farms Aubry et al. 2006. Since livestock waste is one of the sources of organic fertilizer, one possible solution is the utilization of it for the production of organic fertilizer such as compost and bokashi. This in turn will reduce the risk of environmental pollution. Another source of organic fertilizer is paddy straw with ample potential production of about 1.4 times the harvest yield per hectare Kim and Dale 2004 in ISROI 2009. The utilization of paddy straw as agricultural waste for the production of compost offers several benefits either in economic, social or environmental aspects. Economically, it is always available after harvest for free sustainable production of compost. Environmentally, it can reduce the possibility of pollution by converting the waste into compost.

1.7.2. Modeling Approach in Rice Production Study