Village lab produces high-yielding rice variety

Oyos Saroso H.N. ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Terbanggibesar, Lampung   |  Mon, 07/21/2008 10:34 AM  |  Potpourri

Nambah Dadi seems like just an ordinary village in the Terbanggi Besar district of southern Sumatra's Lampung province.

Most of the residents are farmers from Java who arrived in the area several decades ago under the government's transmigration program.

Over the past few years, however, the village has become famous thanks to a new high-yielding rice variety developed by local resident Surono Danu, 58, a farmer who has researched and tested rice varieties for more than 20 years.

Concerned about the economic condition of local farmers, Surono diligently researched rice varieties to come up with one that could produce a better harvest.

He also conducted the research out of fear that local rice varieties would become extinct if they were not developed.

"I am afraid there will be no more local varieties in the future," Surono told The Jakarta Post.

To obtain high-yielding rice varieties, in 1982 Surono toured the province, collecting 183 local paddy varieties. Following a series of experiments in 1985, he crossbred three local varieties -- the Dayang Rindu, Sirendah Sekam Putih and Sirendah Sekam Kuning varieties.

The following year, his efforts paid off; the crossbred seeds yielded a good crop -- but it still took as long to grow as other rice varieties.

After another 10 years of research, Surono came up with the Sertani-1 variety, which took almost two months less than other varieties to produce a good harvest.

"Even though it takes a shorter time to grow, it produces the same quality of rice. Besides, Sertani-1 can grow in rice fields that lack water. What makes me happy, it has more grains per stalk -- more than 400 grains," Surono said.

Surono, together with farmers in Lampung in the Indonesian Farmers Union (Sertani), are now developing another genetically altered rice variety called Emespe or MSP, which stands for Mari Sejahterakan Petani (let's make farmers prosperous).

Workers at Sertani's "laboratory" field in Nambah Dadi village, Lampung Province, check for grass and other unwanted growth in a field newly planted with Sertani-1 seedings. (JP/Oyos Saroso H.N.)

The research and development is conducted in a "laboratory" in a rice field in Nambah Dadi village.

Through the network of farmers' groups and organizations throughout Indonesia, farmers in various parts of the country have started growing Sentani-1 and Emespe rice varieties.

"Sertani-1 is suitable for dry fields, while Emespe is suitable for land with lots of water. This means that Sertani-1 is good for land that lacks water. So farmers do not need to worry about growing paddy in the dry season," said Anang Prihantono, the chairman of Sertani.

One hectare of Sertani-1 rice can produce up to 14 tons of unhulled paddy. The seeds do not need special treatment or much water because they can absorb more oxygen. The seeds grow well in many different areas, such as in land that is dry, nonirrigated or even saline.

Sertani-1 rice also requires less fertilizer and it is more resistant to plant diseases and crop pests such as rats: A paddy stem bitten by a rat can recover within 24 hours and still grow well.

"Sertani-1 seeds have their own antibodies so they are more resistant to diseases. I hope the government will make the most of this variety to increase national rice production," Surono said.

After an initial trial in Lampung, Sertani-1 and MSP varieties were planted for pilot projects in West Java, Central Java, East Java and North Sumatra. In the next few years, members of the Lampung chapter of Sertani hope to develop the seeds all over Indonesia.

Farmers have warmly welcomed the new varieties, many saying they had been pleasantly surprised with the better harvests they produced.

"I am surprised, how wonderful it is," said Nurjaman, 40, a farmer from Merbau Mataram, Central Lampung.

Nurjaman said he had harvested 13-14 tons of rice from one hectare of paddy, while the seeds of another genetically altered variety could produce only 8-10 tons per hectare.

"The Ciherang variety in a dry field can produce 5 tons at the most," he said.

Nurjaman added that farmers in areas with water shortages preferred Sertani-1, as the variety required less water and could be planted just one centimeter above the surface of the land.

He said the Sertani-1 paddy stalk produced around 400-450 grains, while other varieties produced about 200 grains.

"After it is harvested, the paddy quickly grows again, and you can harvest it again and again," said Surono, pointing to paddies in the "laboratory" that had been harvested 16 times.

Sertani has 40,000 registered members. Members who show their membership cards can buy Sertani-1 seeds for Rp 20,000 per kilogram -- 10 kgs of seed is needed to yield one hectare of paddy.

Sertani members are confident the Sertani-1 and Emespe varieties are the answer to the low productivity of Indonesian paddy farmers. Through its network, the organization is intensively introducing the new rice to other farmers across the country, with a target of 40 percent of rice fields, or 4 million hectares of land, being planted with the varieties by 2009.

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