TEMPO.CO, Brebes - The drought that began to hit several regions in Central Java in Brebes forced farmers to temporarily abandon their rice fields, officials said Tuesday, July 28, 2015.
They chose not to work the fields because irrigation water and soil has been infiltrated with sea water.
Head of Brebes Office of Agriculture, Food Crops and Horticulture, Budiharso said the abandoned fields were located on the north side of the Java coast adjacent to the waterfront. He said, due to infiltration of sea water, when used for irrigation can damage fertility and “fields cannot be cultivated.”
Hardiyanto, one of the farmers in the Kertabesuki Village, Wanasari District said him and other farmers choose not to work the fields during drought at the moment and let it dry out after a recent onion harvest. “We will plant rice when it's raining," he said.
The Agriculture Office data show productive rice fields now being neglected during the drought stretches in the coastal areas of Losari, Tanjung, Bulakamba, Wanasari to Brebes districts. In Bulakamba alone, said Budiharso, the total area of rice fields left stalled had reached 1,000 hectares.
The total acreage of rice fields in Brebes in the growing season from April to September this year was around 18,000 hectares.
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