“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25-27).

Standing near a  24-square meter cornfield in Bakiruk Village, Malaka, 35 km west of Atambua, which bordersEast Timor, Herman Besseran (55)  cited the biblical quote asking evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

“I was like Thomas at that time. I could not believe it works, until I see it with my  own eyes,” he said. 

A farmer since 15, Herman cannot believe that the“simple” method of conservation farming can transform the dry soil he ploughed into a  fertile ground.  But,after 6 months working with his farmer group in a conservation project plot, his doubts disappeared.

On his left, the leaves in the cornfield planted with the conventional method turned yellow, the soil below full of weed. While the cornfield nurtured by conservation farming lush green with the soil below covered with beans vines.

“I believe it now, “ he whispered.

Simple ways

In Nusa Tenggara provinces,  the FAO, local governments, and local NGO’s have introduced Conservation Agriculture since 2011. They began a pilot project in 237 plots in NTB (West Nusa Tenggara) –NTT (East Nusa Tenggara), involving around 5,000 farmers. Both provinces were selected because the in both areas soil contains a very low organic carbon element (one of the factors that indicates soil fertility).

200 local communities were being introduced to conservation farming in NTT. The word conservation here means to maintain – or even to improve –the quality of soil by simple ways.

The core of the method is to require farmers to work on infertile soil, covering it with leaves or vines, apply crop rotation, and use homemade compost. All simple ways yet unfamiliar for these farmers that has been overly exposed by extensification agriculture for more than 30 years.

“Here, seeing is believing. If the farmers see conservation agriculture works, they will not hesitate to put this into practice in their own land, and stop their habit to burn the land” said Ujang Suparman, FAO Indonesia Program Manager for NTB-NTT. 

Aside from being uncommon, the method takes more work at first.

First is to dig a hole on the dry and hard soil to make the growing media. It could be a 30x30x30 centimeter hole, or it could also be a dike or a furrow. The hole is then filled with compost and manure.

The hole, which is built one time only, will act as a trap for nutrition. While the beans vines between the corn plants will act as a cover to maintain moisture and prevent weeds from growing.

New Hope

With the conservation method, the farmers who used to burn the harvest leftover get a new perspective in preparing their land. Aside from polluting the air and releasing carbon emission, burning the land could damage the soil structure and texture.

The use of manure causes the farmers to keep their cattle in the stall and not letting them roam around so that the manure could be easily collected.

After the harvest the farmer no longer need to collect and throwaway the leftovers since it can be used to thicken the soil layer. Additional treatment to the soil includes adding organic fertilizer afterwards.

Edgar R. Tibuludji, Secretary at the food security and farmers counseling body in NTT admits that the success on the pilot program will make it easier for other farmers to replicate the conservation farming method.  They assigned 1000 extension workers to train farmers in NTT about conservation agriculture in NTT“It is hard work in the beginning but easy to do afterwards,” he says. In NTT, the conservation farming gives a new hope.

Published: June, 2016
Project: Reducing Disaster Risks caused by Changing Climate in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) Provinces in Indonesia (OSRO/INS/301/USA)