System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Conventional Rice Farming and its Role in the Indramayu Regency Economy

Abstract

Agricultural sector is an important income source for 35.09 % of the population of Indonesia. Most the farmer households with small area depend themselves on the farming business as their major source of income. Rice is the staple food for more than 95 % of the Indonesian population, and the rice farming business becomes the livelihood of 25 million farmer households and regional income so that it is not a surprise that fluctuation in rice production and its distribution may affect the national stability. The conventional method of rice cultivation tends to be inefficient, and it is not environmentally friendly with less optimum productivity; as a result, the farmers’ income is not maximum. The SRI method has been known in Indonesia since 1999; however, it has faced technical and social constraints in its development. In fact, the application of this method is expected to increase the rice productivity and farmers’ income as well as to improve the regional economy. The research was aiming at (1) conducting farming business of field rice using SRI method and conventional method in the farmer household scale; (2) comparing the amount of income obtained by the application of SRI method and by the conventional method in the scale of region; (3) conducting analysis on the income of the farmers and its distribution; and (4) conducting analysis on the role of rice on the regional gross domestic products of Indramayu Regency. The research was conducted at Indramayu Regency which is the center for rice production in West Java Province. The research method used consisted of ratio R/C analysis, linear programming, Gini Index Calculation, analysis on input-output table, and multiple regression. The results have shown that the field rice farming business in Indramayu Regency in the scale of farming business is feasible and profitable. The R/C ratio values of field rice farming business using the conventional method and SRI method are 1.83 and 1.96 respectively. The application of SRI method in the household scale has not increased the income of the farmers; however, it has increased the farmers’ income in the regional scale as much as 87.59 % on the rainy season, 86.16 % on the first period of dry season, and 228.68 % on the second period of dry season. The average income of the farmers using the SRI method is Rp 947,449/capita/month with the Gini Index value of 0.62 whereas the average income of the farmers using the conventional method is Rp 822,541/capita/month with the Gini Index value of 0.48. The contribution of rice farming business is 68.09 % toward the total of the farmers’ income, and as much as 1 % increase in the rice production will increase the regional gross domestic products of Indramayu Regency by 1.23 %. The application of SRI method on the field rice cultivation has potentially increased the RGDP by 4.49%; also, the utilization of rice straws can increase the RGDP of Indramayu Regency by 420 billion rupiahs.