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Reducing crop loss through
Climate Field School –
the Indonesian experience
A.E. Sakya, S.W.B. Harijono, W. Sulistya, Nurhayati, N. Florida,
Marjuki Indonesia Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG)
A
griculture is one of the most highly sensitive development
sectors, prone to climate variability and extremes, such
as droughts and floods. In the past, good seeds, fertilizer
and proper land preparation, irrigation and cultivation processes
were sufficient for farmers to maximize their crop production.
Nowadays, these conditions are no longer enough. Farmers need
to know how to deal with climate variability in order to reduce
crop loss through poor productivity.
Human activity has induced carbon dioxide concentration in the air,
resulting in higher earth surface temperature. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change has concluded that global warming has
shifted climate parameters, variability and characteristics locally,
regionally and globally.
1
Locally, changes to rainfall amounts and
patterns pose a direct threat in the form of soil erosion rates and
changes to soil moisture on which crop productivity depends. The
scientific community predicts that such trends will continue.
Warmer climates may provide better conditions for food produc-
tion; however, the uncontrollable increase in temperatures induces
droughts, floods and heat waves, and creates disastrous threats for
farmers. In addition, the affected water supply and soil moisture
could make it less feasible to continue crop production in certain
regions.
There have been many anticipatory efforts to reduce the impacts
of extreme climate phenomena. These efforts, however, are mainly
responsive, concentrating on how to fix the damage. They are far
from being preventive actions.
One of many adaptive efforts to tackle the threat of climate change
is the implementation of Climate Field School (CFS). CFS is aimed
at connecting farmers to enable the understanding of
climate information, particularly on site, through a train-
ing process.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology
and Geophysics (BMKG) is a Government agency solely
assigned to the dissemination of climate information
resulting from the processing of acquired climate
parameters from observation stations and depicted both
in quantitative and qualitative forms. The amount of
rainfall, precipitation and temperatures – among other
factors – are plotted numerically for a certain region.
Their patterns are mapped or described graphically
either locally or regionally to show spatial gradation.
This product has regularly been published for public
consumption. BMKG periodically disseminates rainfall
prediction, as well as wet and dry season onset predic-
tion, to district and provincial levels of government as
well as the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). It is expected
that local government should serve as an intermediary
body or interface institution to farmers in the field.
However, this type of information still seems to
be difficult for farmers to apply directly for purposes
such as planting, cultivating or plowing. In this regard,
particularly for agricultural sectors, a closer collabora-
tion with extension workers is necessary. It is in this
context that CFS is seen as contributing its strategic
role. This report summarizes how Indonesia – particu-
larly BMKG – has extended its service through CFS in
helping farmers reduce the potential loss of crops.
A
griculture
Source: BMKG Indonesia
Stages of CFS
Target: Agricultural officers
(regency level)
Target: Extension workers
Target: Farmers
Function:
• Communicating CFS knowledge to
farmers’ household
• Transferring CFS knowledge to other farmers
Function:
• Implementing climate information for
agriculture techniques
• Adjusting planting onset based on
climate information
• Motivating farmers to be aware of
climate information
Local government – extension workers
Function:
• Translating climate infomation
• Designing dissemination format
• Providing simple technology to simulate
and observe climate variability