FOOD DIVERSIFICATION THROUGH COURTYARD CULTIVATION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 29 (ANTARA) - Residential courtyards in Indonesia are being used to cultivate food crops and to diversify food production. Studies carried out by the National Land Affairs (BPN) show that in 2007, there were 4.1 million hectares of agricultural land in Java, but the figure dropped to 3.5 million in 2010. In fact, there has been a significant decline in the area of agricultural land due to industrial development.          To increase food production, people are now using their residential courtyards as alternative areas to develop food crops. "Courtyards can be converted into food barns," said Bambang Shergi Laksmono, a social welfare expert at the University of Indonesia (UI), on Thursday.          Indonesia has about 10.3 million hectares of land (courtyard) that can be utilized for the development of food crops, to improve the welfare of the people. Courtyards account for about 14 percent of the total agricultural land in the country.          As a food barn, a courtyard plays an important role in maintaining the resilience of food. In the past, people used to convert their yards into food barns by planting tubers.