Pranata mangsa and the sustainability of agricultural land resources management in Imogiri sub-district of Bantul regency

Abstract

Pranata mangsa is a Javanese calendar used by farmers to start the planting period and agricultural activities. Pranata mangsa in a modern farming today no longer becomes a rule or “paugeran” in agricultural activities, especially wetland farming, but it serves as controllers of the existing farming activities. Pranata mangsa is still used by farmers in Imogiri sub-district as a controller of agricultural activities. As a controller, it provides considerations in performing agricultural land management. Those considerations are relevant with the sustainable land resources management. Its relevance deals with farmer's decision in determining the type of land use, crop rotation, and the type of dominant crop in Imogiri sub-district. This research aims at investigating: (1) the characteristics of agricultural land resource management in Imogiri sub-district, (2) how far the farmers in Imogiri sub-district utilize pranata mangsa to maintain the sustainability of agricultural land resource management. This research was conducted in Imogiri sub-district. The research location was determined purposively. The population of this research is farmers. The research sample consists of 369 farmers. The research data include primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected using observations and interviews, while secondary data were gathered using documentation techniques. The collected data were analyzed by employing quantitative-descriptive methods based on the frequency table data. The results show that: (1) the characteristics of agricultural land resource management in Imogiri subdistricts are based on: (a) the type of land use i.e. irrigated rice field, rainfed rice field, and dry land, (b) the rotation of crops i.e. irrigated rice fields include paddy-paddy-paddy, rainfed rice fields consist of paddy-paddy-palawija (secondary crops), and dry land consists of paddy-cassava, (c) the dominant types of agricultural crops i.e. irrigated rice fields is paddy, rainfed rice fields consist of paddy-palawija, and dry land consists of paddy-cassava (2) farmers in Imogiri sub-district utilize pranata mangsa to maintain the sustainability of agricultural land resource management i.e. 86.2% in irrigated rice field, 92.7% in rainfed rice field, and 88.6% in dry land.