Resilient Agriculture System in NTB to Combat Food Crises

Summary:
The Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province in Indonesia is implementing a resilient agricultural system to safeguard against potential food crises caused by climate change, land use changes, and population growth. According to Muhammad Taufieq Hidayat, Head of the Agriculture and Plantation Office of NTB, the local government is utilizing unused lands and new dams to boost agricultural productivity. They are also promoting climate-smart agriculture (CSA), which includes efficient water use, management of fertilizers, and pest control, to increase productivity and income sustainably, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
CSA is designed to be adaptive to climate change and aims to reduce the agricultural sector’s contribution to it. Despite challenges like La Nina and El Nino, NTB has consistently recorded surpluses in rice production over the past four years, with production increasing from 1.31 million tons in 2020 to 1.53 million tons in 2023. Nationally, Indonesia’s rice production in 2023 reached 53.98 million tons.