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Restoration of annual cropping in tsunami-affected areas of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province, Indonesia
Project ID
SMCN/2005/118
Project Country
Commissioned Organisation
NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, Australia
Project Leader
Dr Peter Slavich
peter.slavich@industry.nsw.gov.au
Project Website:
Phone:
02 6626 1352
Fax:
02 6628 1744
Project Budget
$858,059.00
Start Date
01/09/2006
Finish Date
31/08/2008
Extension Start Date
01/09/2008
Extension Finish Date
31/10/2008
ACIAR Research Program Manager
Dr Gamini Keerthisinghe
Related publications
Overview Objectives
The project aimed to strengthen and rebuild the technical capacity of extension services to manage tsunami-affected soils and restore crop production - at provincial (NAD-BPTP), district (kabupaten) and subdistrict (kecamatan) levels. Other aims were to develop and demonstrate soil management practices to restore the productivity of annual crops in tsunami-affected production areas, and to develop and implement a communication strategy for information exchange between government, non-government and community interest groups working to restore agriculture to tsunami-affected land.
Project Background and Objectives
The earthquake and tsunami damage in western Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) Province on 26 December 2004 resulted in great loss of the farming population, destruction of agricultural and other infrastructure, deposition of marine sediments and inundation of saline water on formerly productive fields. In a number of locations, changes to landforms and elevation resulted in major changes to drainage patterns.
Basic infrastructure and accessibility have improved in the western coast districts, which were the most severely affected. There has been shift from disaster recovery and emergency aid to the re-establishment of livelihoods. Food aid for people displaced by the tsunami has been ongoing, but now needs to be replaced with locally produced food.
The main field crops affected by the tsunami in NAD were wet-season rice grown in rotation with cash crops such as peanuts, soybeans, maize and vegetables (palawija crops). This project assisted the re-establishment of rural livelihoods based on annual cropping, to reduce the reliance on food aid in tsunami-affected areas of NAD and in particular extend existing agricultural RD&E to food-cropping areas of western coastal districts.
Progress Reports (Year 1, 2, 3 etc)
Year 1:
OBJECTIVE 1. Strengthen and rebuild the technical capacity of extension services at provincial (NAD BPTP), district (Kabupaten) and subdistrict (Kecamatan) levels to manage tsunami-affected soils to restore crop production.
OBJECTIVE 2. Develop and demonstrate soil management practices to restore the productivity of annual crops in tsunami-affected production areas.
OBJECTIVE 3. Develop and implement a communication strategy to facilitate information exchange between government, non-government and community interest groups working on restoring agriculture to tsunami-affected land.
The project has field activities which focus on monitoring changes in soil salinity during the post- tsunami period as well as introducing improved agronomic and nutrient management practices for rice, peanuts and soybeans.
Soils have been monitored for salinity at 20 sites across the districts of Aceh Barat, Aceh Besar, Pidie and Bireuen. The monitoring shows soil salinity is declining and is now a less significant limitation to crop production than during the first year after the tsunami. Leaching by rainfall and floods has reduced soil salinity levels. Flooding and poor drainage have caused production losses from waterlogging. Rates of leaching vary with length of inundation of seawater, soil type and amount of rainfall and access to drainage systems. Tidal affected croplands remain saline.
The laboratory at BPTP has been repaired and upgraded, including training of BPTP NAD staff at ISRI, Bogor.
Ten research and demonstration trials have been completed for soybean, rice and peanut crops focussing on soil and crop issues, demonstration of cropping techniques to manage tsunami-related problems, varieties (especially salt-tolerance in rice), and Integrated Crop Management systems.
The capacity of staff at the provincial and district levels has been improved in the area of soils using Soils Training Workshops and Train the Trainer activities to allow District staff to train a wider pool of extension staff.
Information about the progress of research and extension on tsunami-affected agriculture is presented in a regular newsletter, the placement of project outputs on the project web page - http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/wollongbar/aceh.htm - communications workshops in districts for farmers and extension staff and an annual communications forum bringing together extension staff, researchers, leading farmers and NGOs to present and discuss issues relating to farming on tsunami-affected land in Aceh.
Feedback collected from workshops and forums has assisted the development of a soil biology booklet (Appendix 1) and highlighted the need for accessible pest identification materials for farmers and extension staff. Whilst there is valuable information available on the internet, extension staff and farmers have limited access to this material and require a format more appropriate to their needs.
Project Outcomes
The project developed and demonstrated soil management practices to increase productivity of annual crops in tsunami-affected areas. It also strengthened the technical capacity of extension services in Aceh, and facilitated information exchange between all government, non-government and community groups restoring agriculture in Aceh.
The main factors that affected crop production immediately after the tsunami were social dislocation and high soil salinity. Salinity levels varied widely and persisted longer in locations and soils with restricted drainage. The most effective management strategy was to assess and monitor levels with electromagnetic induction instruments (EM38) and delay cropping until rainfall leached the salt through the soil. Salinity reference sites were monitored for up to three years using the strengthened analytical capacity of the BPTP soil laboratory in Banda Aceh.
Crop experiments and demonstration trials compared rice, peanut and soybean varieties, agronomic management practices, organic amendments, fertiliser packages and local farmer practice. Significant yield increases in rice, peanut and soybean crops were demonstrated. Farmer-to-farmer visits and field and pot trials demonstrated the potential productivity of well managed peat soils. The field trials increased farmers' confidence that salinity was low enough to resume production, and also demonstrated the value of introducing new varieties and nutrient management.
Workshops at provincial, district and subdistrict levels trained agricultural staff and farm leaders to assess soil and crop factors that limit production, to manage nutrients in rice crops, and to use rice soil test kits and leaf colour charts. District operators were trained to operate EM38 equipment provided by the project for rapid assessment of salinity.
The team produced communication packages on soil biology and agronomic management to instruct farmers, extension staff and NGOs. Lessons learned were documented for wider use in A practical guide to restoring agriculture after a tsunami (see http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/projects/06P302).
BPTP Banda Aceh is now a recognised source of advice and assistance for rehabilitating tsunami-affected land and has built relationships with universities, NGOs and other organisations. However, rebuilding Aceh's technical and extension capacity remains an important need as so many lives were lost in the tsunami.
The earthquake that caused the tsunami also changed landscape drainage patterns and increased waterlogging and crop flooding. A priority for long-term recovery of agriculture on coastal floodplains is to restore irrigation and drainage infrastructure.
Location
There are no project locations defined for this project.
