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INDONESIA
& LOMBOK RICE FIELD
A paddy field is a
flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and
other semiaquatic crops. Rice can also be grown in
dry-fields, but from the twentieth century paddy field
agriculture became the dominant form of growing rice. Paddy
fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of
east and southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Nepal, China,
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan,
Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. They are also found
in other rice-growing regions such as Piedmont (Italy), the
Camargue and the Artibonite Valley.
Paddy fields can be built adjacent to otherwise natural
areas such as rivers or marshes. They can be constructed,
often on steep hillsides with much labor and materials. The
fields require large quantities of water for irrigation.
Flooding provides water essential to the growth of the crop.
Water also provides a favorable environment for the rice
strains being grown as well as discouraging the growth of
many species of weeds. The water buffalo is the only draft
animal adapted for life in wetlands so they are extensively
used in paddy fields.
Growing rice has an adverse environmental impact because of
the large quantities of methane gas it generates. World
methane production due to paddy fields has been estimated to
be in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes per annum. This
level of greenhouse gas generation is a large component of
the global warming threat produced from an expanding human
population. However, recent studies have shown that methane
can be significantly reduced while also boosting crop yield
by draining the paddies.
Indonesia
Prime Javanese paddy yields roughly 6 metric tons of
unmilled rice (2.5 metric tons of milled rice) per hectare.
When irrigation is available, rice farmers typically plant
Green Revolution rice varieties allowing three growing
seasons per year. Since fertilizer and pesticide are
relatively expensive inputs, farmers typically plant seeds
in a very small plot. Three weeks following germination, the
6-8inch stalks are picked and replanted at greater
separation, in a backbreaking manual procedure.
Rice harvesting in
Central Java is often performed not by owners or
sharecroppers of paddy, but rather by itinerant middlemen,
whose small firms specialize in harvesting, transport,
milling, and distribution to markets.
The fertile volcanic soil of much of the Indonesian
archipelago-- and particularly the islands of Java and
Bali-- has made rice a central dietary staple. Steep terrain
on Bali resulted in intricate cooperation systems to manage
water storage and drainage for rice terraces. |
