Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
return and has been a major factor limiting the expansion of this farming
system in west Java.
According to the soil analysis, organic farming showed signifi cantly high-
er SOC storage, which may help not only to mitigate global warming, but
also to establish a sustainable food system in Indonesia. Organic paddy rice
farmer also has potential to improve soil quality, reduce the cost of chemicals
that have recently been increasing with the price of fossils fuels, and increase
farmers' incomes due to its higher price. However, organic farming requires
intensive labor such as weeding and applying bocashi fertilizer to the fi elds.
In the study area, profi ts from rice production were shared among the land
owners, farmers (managers), and workers, but workers received only about
20% of the yield base of rice production. This suggests that by converting con-
ventional farming to organic farming, land owners and farmers can increase
their profi ts, while workers receive relatively little added benefi t, despite more
work. Thus, while organic farming has great potential to improve environ-
mental quality, it also creates social justice problems in Indonesia.
From an interview with a worker who was a member of women group
workers in Shitogede, a strongly positive opinion regarding organic farm-
ing was received (Figure 5). The worker stated clearly “the quality of or-
ganic rice is excellent, organic rice can maintain the good fl avors after
cooking for long hours.” Although we need a scientifi c evaluation of the
rice quality of organic and conventional rice, her opinion suggests that
the organic rice farming in Bogor Indonesia was strongly supported by
the disinterest works that were provided by many female workers. These
disinterest works also brought the benefi t to improve the soil quality.
As local environmental quality becomes increasingly degraded by
agricultural practices, the importance of protecting and restoring soil re-
sources is being recognized by the world community [18-20]. Sustainable
management of soil received strong support at the Rio Summit in 1992
as well as at Agenda 21 [21], the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change [22], in articles 3.3 and 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol [23], and else-
where. These conventions are indicative of the recognition by the world
community of the strong links between soil degradation and desertifi ca-
tion on the one hand, and loss of biodiversity, threats to food security, in-
creases in poverty, and risks of accelerated greenhouse effects and climate
change on the other. This situation suggests that a global support network
