Sustainability status of paddy cultivation on marginal peat soils in Indonesia

Muhammad Faiz Barchia, Andi Ishak, Satria Putra Utama and Ridha Rizki Novanda

Abstract: Erratic circumstances of agricultural food cultivation on marginal peat soils in Indonesia could be a barrier for sustainable rice production and food security because of various determinants. Purpose of this study was to evaluate rice cultivation sustainability on peatlands and to find the significant attributes that degraded the sustainable agricultural activities. This research was conducted from June to September 2020 at two areas of marginal peat soils in Air Hitam irrigated paddy fields in Central Bengkulu Regency and Air Manjuto irrigated paddy fields in Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu Province. Purposive and snowball sampling method was used to obtain 50 key informants. A scalable and normative rapid appraisal multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to examine sustainable status based on five dimensions of ecology, economy, socio-culture, technology and institution as well as 53 attributes. Accuracy of MDS analysis was analyzed with goodness of fit and Monte Carlo analysis, while sensitive attributes was fitted with root mean square leverage analysis. Rice cultivation sustainability on marginal peat soils in Bengkulu under uncertain circumstance revealed less sustainable status with value 47.81. Determinants suppressed the sustainability status were various attributes of economic dimension and institutional and policies with values 40.95 and 32.48, respectively. Strengthening sustainability of rice cultivation on marginal peat soils in Bengkulu should initially be supported by government through increasing agricultural product price and more subsidized agricultural inputs. Facing uncertain circumstances causing harvesting failures, rice farmers proposed policy supports and facilities form agricultural insurances.

Keywords: marginal peat soils; Rice cultivation; sustainability determinants; sustainable paddy fields

Date published: 2021-04-15