DROUGHT HITS VARIOUS REGIONS OF INDONESIA

by Andi Abdussalam           Jakarta, June 30 (Antara) -- The annual dry spell, which often wreaks havoc on the country's crops, has begun to affect several regions in Indonesia once again.          Droughts related to the El Niño have reduced the average rainfall to below 100 millimeters per month and to less than 50 millimeters in a number of provinces.          "In the provinces of East Java, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and West Nusa Tenggara, rainfall is less than 50 millimeters per month," Head of the Information Center and Public Relations and Spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Monday.          He added that regions in the provinces of Java, Bali, NTB, NTT, southern parts of Papua and Maluku, and a few areas in South Sulawesi were hit by the dry spell.          "Droughts have also affected areas in Purbalingga, Gunungkidul, Wonogiri, Tuban, Bojonegoro, Boyolali, Lombok Utara, and NTT," he stated, adding that the same dry spell had hit most parts of Sumatra, as well.          Nugroho warned that the increasingly dry weather conditions could raise the threat of forest and land fires, especially in Sumatra.          "According to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the dry season will peak in September," the BNPB spokesman affirmed.          In a written statement released by the BMKG on Wednesday, it stated that the current moderate intensity of the El Niño is predicted to last till November and that the intensity is likely to strengthen.          Places that face the risk of being affected by the El Niño are South Sumatra, Lampung, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. The weather phenomenon will delay the onset of monsoons in the 2015/2016 period.          The BMKG further noted that it is possible the droughts in Indonesia had not been caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon entirely. The dry spell could have also been triggered by the increase in the sea surface temperature (SST) in the Pacific Ocean along the equator, which was witnessed particularly in the middle and eastern parts of the country, and the decrease in the SST along the equator in the western parts.          El Niño is a natural phenomenon characterized by markedly warmer water in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of South America. It can alter weather patterns and bring about drought in the West Pacific region, including Indonesia.          In the face of the threat of widespread drought in the country, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman revealed that this year, the government has allocated a budget of Rp880 billion to overcome the effects of the dry spell on 198 thousand hectares of crops.          "We cannot remain silent in the face of the droughts, which take a toll on the country's rice production every year," the minister remarked in Bojonegoro, East Java, on Wednesday.          For this purpose, the government, with the Rp880 billion funding, will buy some 20 thousand units of water pumps to help drought-affected areas overcome shortage of water, he added.          "We cannot let the conditions protract because it will inflict severe losses on farmers," Sulaiman asserted.          However, the procurement of the water pumps will be carried out by companies through appointments, not through auctions.          "Handling projects on crops cannot be equalized with handling construction projects. Food crop procurement projects are a matter of days and seconds. They should not be late. If they are late, there could be serious consequences," the minister stressed.          Therefore, he noted, the procurement of water pumps for food crop projects will be carried out following a new system, i.e. through direct appointments of executors of companies, after regulations are revised.          In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture will also coordinate with the Attorney General's Office, the National Police Chief, and the government's Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) to procure water pumps using the direct appointment system.          "Later, if we face a legal issue despite using this system, that will be fate at play," he remarked.          In Bojonegoro, Minister Sulaiman, accompanied by District Head of Bojonegoro Suyono, provided 22 units of water pumps as assistance to the local farmers' group in Kanor sub-district. He also provided 10 units of rice harvesters to the farmers.          "I added some 300 water pumps to overcome the threat of droughts to 6,000 hectares of rice fields in the district of Bojonegoro," he affirmed.          Bojonegoro is only one of the regions that have begun to feel the effects of the ongoing drought in the country.          According to Akhmad Djupari, the head of the Bojonegoro Agriculture Service, to meet the need for water in a number of villages in the district, farmers draw water from the Bengawan Solo River.          "They pump water from Bengawan Solo and channel it through the Inggas Stream in Kanor sub-district," Djupari explained on Saturday.          He added that the water from Bengawan Solo, which is channeled through the Inggas Stream, is drawn using 22 water pumps the minister provided.          According to data at the Bojonegoro Agriculture Service, there are 38 thousand hectares of rice farms in the district, of which some 10,000 hectares are drought-hit.     ***3***(T.A014/INE) (T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 30-06-2015 20:58:01