Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia - Free EBooks Library

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Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia Chapter two the total national production of rice. Therefore, the colonial government started to replace community based irrigation systems by new, large-scale irrigation systems. Nevertheless, the first goal was never achieved, until the Green Revolution started in the late 1960s en the beginning of the 1970s. The introduction of new high-yielding rice varieties in combination with fertilisers was a fact. New technologies in combination with the dated public irrigation systems of the Dutch truly made a difference in increasing rice production. Because of the poor condition of a number of systems, the Indonesian government started to invest in new public irrigation systems in the 1970s, with the assistance of the Worldbank and other international investors. During 1980s, the Second Green Revolution provided new hybrid variances, new rice plant types and the implementation of genomics research. These three developments together made it possible for Indonesia to achieve selfsufficiency in rice production in 1984. Between then and 1996, the total production of rice in Indonesia was even higher than the total domestic consumption. Since then, Indonesia has largely secured its national rice production and thus the most important part of the daily menu for the people of Indonesia. The general developments within the Indonesian wet rice cultivation have been analysed in this chapter. This provides a first basis for understanding the reasons for the differences that do exist in wet rice cultivation considering methods, techniques and management. Indeed, there are many exceptions in relation to the developments within wet rice cultivation. Moreover, between traditional systems on the one hand and modern systems on the other, there is a wide range of different stages of development. So how can we explain these differences? For this, we need to extend the basis of this chapter with an analysis of rural communities and their customs, habits and behaviour in relation to wet rice cultivation. Therefore, the next chapter will deal with a number of theoretical concepts that can assist in understanding customs, habits and behaviour of rural communities in Indonesia. 22
Wet rice cultivation in Indonesia Chapter three Chapter three Conceptual framework 3.1 Introduction In many areas of Indonesia, farmers have followed modernisation trends within wet rice cultivation. Yet in other areas, farmers still follow traditional methods and techniques for the utilisation of sawahs. Two hypotheses might explain these differences. Firstly, it is possible that some rural communities do not want to modernise their wet rice system because there is a direct relation between rice production and their identity. Secondly, the form of traditional authority of a rural community might make the integration of modernisation influences less accessible. On the other hand, there are also influences from outside that promote modernisation, such as the agricultural programs of the Indonesian government of the last three decades. However, we will not include this in the thesis 13 . This chapter consists of the following paragraphs. First, we will concentrate on the meaning of identity, tradition and adat in wet rice cultivation. After that, we are going to review the symbolic aspects within wet rice cultivation. It will become clear that for traditional rural communities in Indonesia, rice can mean much more than only a form of nutrition. The next paragraph focuses on traditional authority and the way in which the members of a traditional community accept this authority. The chapter ends with several important conclusions. 3.2 The meaning of identity, tradition and adat in wet rice cultivation 3.2.1 Identifying the concept of identity In many rural areas of Java, wet rice cultivation is of crucial importance for sustaining a living. In some of these rural areas wet rice cultivation is not only important as a main part of the daily menu, but also as an integrated part of the live of the people. Thus, for some social groups on rural Java, wet rice cultivation is also part of their identity. The Kasepuhan are a very clear example of how rice can be a leading central theme for a traditional rural community. In this sense, they are not unique since many other traditional communities can be found across Java that also regard rice as a highly important aspect of their existence, other than a form of nutrition. Therefore, we will now concentrate on the concept of identity, and relate it with wet rice cultivation. Identity is foremost a symbolic construction that exists by attributing a meaning to the characteristics of customs, habits and behaviour of a certain social group in such a way that this social group can be distinguished from other social groups. Identity has to do with characterization and distinction. The customs, habits and behaviour of a social group have to be eligible and recognizable, with the possibility of connecting them to characteristics and appreciation. To these characteristics, a specific and unique story is connected and symbols or icons do often play an important role. Thus, identity is the basis for a social group for being recognizable. Identity provides boundaries and makes communication and exchange possible (RLG, 1999). Consequently, we will define identity as: ‘a symbolic construction of a coherent totality of specific characteristics of a social group, making this group distinguishable and recognizable from other social groups and attributing a meaning to the customs, habits and behaviour of this social group’ (RLG, 1999) 13 See appendix 11 for a summary of the report. Consult Bolman, 2006 for the full internship report. 23
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