Drought Ceases Farming Activities in Madura
18 September 2014 14:04 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Bangkalan - Farmers in several villages in the Regency of Bangkalan, Madura have stopped all farming activities due to drought. Some villages like Jaddih, Sanggra Agung and Bilaporah cannot work on their fields as lack of rain had causes the soil to dry and harden.
"Because of the drought, the land becomes too arid for us to plant on," Abdul Razak, a farmer from Sanggra Agung village, said yesterday.
According to Razak, all farming activities had ceased since July. The last crop planted was peanuts, but it failed to harvest due to lack of water.
"The field in our village has no irrigation system," he said.
Bangkalan's Agriculture and Livestock Department noted that 70 percent of 29,000 hectares of agricultural land in the regency are rain-fed types. "We urge farmers to plant drought resistant crops such as corn and beans," the chief's department Puguh Santoso said.
EDWIN FAJERIAL | MUSTHOFA BISRI
