This report provides information on the various agro-ecological zones and farming systems; the supply of fertilizers, their distribution and systems of payment; recommended rates of fertilizer application for the economically important crops; the harvested area and yield of crops by province and island; and fertilizer policy and future fertilizer requirements. The data used in this study mainly were derived from the statistics of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and Department of Agriculture (DOA) of Indonesia.
The Indonesian archipelago consists of 17 435 islands with a total land area of 192 million hectares. Agriculture is a key sector of the Indonesian economy. In the early 2000s, more than 70 percent of the 215 million population of Indonesia or 44.3 percent of the labour force were in the rural sector. Agriculture provides 17.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Two thirds of Indonesia are surrounded by ocean. Of the total land area, 51.0 million ha are used for agriculture and forestry, 7.8 million hectares (4.2 percent) are planted with lowland rice, 13.2 million hectares (7 percent) with upland crops, 19.9 million hectares (10.5 percent) with plantation and industrial crops and 10.1 million hectares (5.3 percent) are under forest (CBS, 2002). Rice and maize are the major food crops and rubber and oil-palm are the major plantation crops.
Agricultural development in Indonesia has followed closely the growth of population and its geographical distribution. Out of 215 million inhabitants, about 59 percent (127 million) reside in the inner islands of Java, Madura, Bali and Lombok, which together compose only about 8 percent of Indonesia's land area. The remaining 87.8 million people occupy the outer islands, of which the larger are Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.
The uneven distribution of the population reflects the long-term effects of contrasting soil fertility conditions in the various parts of the country. The inner islands that have more fertile and high base saturation soils, such as Inceptisols, Mollisols, and Vertisols (Figure 1), are densely populated. The outer islands that are dominated by Ultisols, Oxisols and Histosols, are sparsely populated. In their natural state, the latter three soils are acid with a low plant nutrient status. They require higher fertilizer inputs in order to achieve the high crop yields that are obtained in Java and the other inner islands. However, fertilizer use in the outer islands is generally lower and, as a result, yields are generally lower than those achieved on Java.
The high use of mineral fertilizers in the past decades, reflecting the requirements of high yielding rice varieties, accounts for the success in increasing rice production, the staple food for the ever-growing population of Indonesia. However, during the last five years (1998 to 2002) fertilizer use has tended to decrease and generally, to become less balanced. Inadequate supplies of rice, maize, soybean and sugar have become critical food security issues. Imports of these commodities have become substantial amounting to around 0.5 to 1.0 million tonnes for each commodity.
|
FIGURE 1
|
This report presents data during the 1998 to 2002 period derived from studies of fertilizer use, harvested areas, average yields per ha of the economically important crops and fertilizer use profitability. During the period in question, rates and types of fertilizer applied have changed. The impacts of these changes on crop productivity are discussed. Lastly, fertilizer policy and future fertilizer needs are considered.
Note: The islands listed in the tables in this publication comprise the following provinces:
Java: Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java and Banten.Sumatera: N. A. Darussalam, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, Bengkulu, Lampung and Bangka Belitung.
Bali and Nusa Tenggara: Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
Kalimantan: West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.
Sulawesi: North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi and Gorontalo.
Maluku and Papua.
