Optimising Water Management in Drylands to Increase Crop Productivity and Anticipate Climate Change in Indonesia

Abstract

In the future, Indonesia will become increasingly dependent on dryland agriculture. New adaptive technology innovations able to transform drylands into arable land throughout almost the entire year have been developed to anticipate global climate change in tropical areas. This article reviews the results of research on the importance of climate and water management technology to increase the crop index and productivity in Indonesia. We found that irrigation treatment at 80% of the FAO-recommended rate resulted in the highest maize stover yield (around 13.65–14.10 t h−1). Irrigation treatment at 60% of the FAO-recommended rate for soybeans (at 0.24 L s−1 h−1) produced good-quality soybean seeds. The use of existing water resources can increase the planted area from 1.25 to 1.67 and increase the cropping index during the second planting season in the same area. Agricultural systems based on water management can improve their crop index and productivity, and anticipate climate change to increase farmers’ incomes and wellbeing. Support measures in the form of regulations, legislation, acts, programmes, and policies from central and local governments for land use and management are crucial. The development of infrastructure by establishing water management institutions at the village/farmers’ group levels to allocate irrigation water is a leverage point to develop dryland agricultural systems appropriately and judiciously to assist in sustainable development.