0 Wet season affects rice prices

The current rainy season has badly affected local harvests as they contain too much water, resulting in crops fetching lower prices. Gde Suarsa, head of Bali Statistics Agency, told journalists on Tuesday that generally agricultural products were vulnerable to the changing weather, especially the wet season. “On the one hand, the abundant water has benefited the rice fields as there was plenty of water during the planting season. On the other hand, heavy rains will affect the harvests,” Suarsa said. 

Over the last few weeks, Bali has been experiencing heavy downpours and strong winds all over the island. “The strong winds have destroyed the paddy fields,” said Suarsa. The majority of local farmers sell their harvests in the form of dried unmilled rice. In January this year, 7.41 percent of the rice sold was of poor quality with water content above 25 percent. The unmilled rice fetched Rp 3,708.67 per kilogram in the markets, while at the mill it was sold at Rp 3,786.56 per kilogram. 

In fact, the market price was still above the government set price of Rp 3,300 per kilogram for farmers and Rp 3,350 per kilogram at the mills. Such prices, however, did not have a significant impact on the farmers’ living conditions as many farmers in Bali own only small farms. The highest price paid for unmilled rice was Rp 4,265 per kilogram in Jembrana, west Bali, while the lowest price was Rp 3,396 per kilogram in Badung regency. He further said that the farmers’ exchange point (NTP) for food crop in January had dropped 2.17 percent from 94.40 to 92.36. 

For paddy, the NTP dropped 0.67 percent, and for plantation crops 1.11 percent. The drop in NTP was due to the increase in money paid by farmers for their household needs, of around 1.58 percent. In general, Suarsa said, the province’s NTP in January dropped 0.76 percent from 108.39 in December 2012 to 107.57 The NTP index has become the most important reference for the level of prosperity in farmers’ households. An NTP of 100 can be considered the level at which farmers’ incomes exceed expenses. 

Suarsa said that the NTP for farmers in the food crop sector and fisheries was always low compared to other sectors. The NTP for food crop farmers remained at 92.36, while for fishermen it was only 83.33. Gde Ambara, head of Denpasar Food Crop and Horticulture office, admitted that the agriculture sector was highly dependent on weather conditions. “I have called on farmers to adjust their planting cycle to suit the present weather conditions,” said Ambara. 

Traditionally, Balinese farmers have tended to follow the farming system practised by their ancestors. “At present, the climate is changing in uncertain ways. Farmers must be ready to anticipate any drastic shifts in weather conditions,” he added. He said that the agency had provided additional training to equip the farmers with the necessary knowledge on current climate conditions, suitable farming systems, as well as new varieties of plants and seeds.

source : bali daily