Indonesia

Rice Cultivation in Indonesia

Miss D

In the old times different roles between men and women existed within this community, especially surrounding the cultivation and harvesting of rice. All year long, women played an important role in the rice production process. Since hybrid paddy has been introduced however, women are only involved in the replanting and weeding process. Today men and machines have taken on the majority of work.

Cultivating hybrid paddy means that we harvest much more frequently. Local paddy used to take up to 7 months to be ready for harvest, while hybrid paddy takes only 4 months. With the traditional paddy we would let the land rest for 40 days after each harvest, using the straw as fertilizer and as food for the animals which helped us with our work in the fields. Today, the land gets no rest.

Producing rice is much faster today and we seem to have a lot more free time. In the past women used small tools in the rice fields, kind of like a comb that cut the rice from the plant. We would cut the rice plants one by one. Today, it is done with a large knife, which means that large bunches can be cut at the same time. Machines like rice mills and other technologies have also taken on our responsibilities. This means that the work is easier, but it does not mean that we are happier. I feel that the people in our community are generally less happy now; they feel as though they have lost their emotional connection with the land.

In my opinion the local paddy that we used to grow in this region was much more delicious and kept better than the hybrid paddy. We argued about the quality of the rice with the government, but they insisted that we plant the hybrid variety due to the additional yields that could be obtained. I also think that the local variety was much safer as there used to be only minimal use of pesticides. The problem is that it just takes too long to plant.

The longer harvest time and smaller yields of traditional paddy means that farmers in this community prefer to grow the hybrid varieties. Unfortunately, farmers in this area find it difficult to work together as a group, so returning back to the traditional variety is very complex. If they could organise themselves, I would prefer them to grow the traditional variety. I'm not optimistic though, as everyone has different ideas of what is best for the future.