Lesson learnt from Smart Rice Actions in Indonesia

Abstract

Smart Rice (SR) actions are innovative farming practices derived from climate smart agriculture (CSA) concepts and are directed to comply with mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change. This study provided information about the plausible implementation of SR actions in Indonesia based on literature reviews and stakeholders’ consultation with key informants work- ing on crop management and climate information. The SR actions recommendations are a set of farming practices applied to fulfill the needs of rice growth and development set in specific agro-ecosystem areas. These include utilization of climate information for crop planning, selec- tion of superior varieties and seed quality management, proper land preparation and soil nutri- tion management, application of water saving and efficient technologies, and integrated pest management. Policies and regulations in Indonesia supported the implementation of SR ac- tions with regards to the government commitment in addressing climate change and targeting self-sufficiency of rice production. However, there were some challenges for farmers in adopting the SR actions because of limitation in knowledge and capacity, and availability of guidelines and tools. Coordination among key stakeholders (i.e., government, extension workers, univer- sities, supporting partners, and farmers) within the rice sector should be institutionalized to address the challenges and to support the adoption of SR actions nationally. The recommen- dations were to a) improve the knowledge and capacity of the extension workers and farmers, b) promote the use of appropriate farming technologies and tools, c) integrate crop insurance with the weather prediction, d) modify the rule of government subsidy, e) apply crop simulation models and tools for measuring GHG emissions based on the agro-climate zonation, f) develop climate change impact assessments for measuring the benefits of SR actions under future cli- mate change projections, and g) develop guidelines of the SR actions to ease the adoption of the proposed SR actions.