Sustainable local rice development (a case of pandanwangi rice development in Cianjur, Indonesia)

Abstract

The development of local rice in Indonesia must always be encouraged, in addition to a way to maintain the wealth of germplasm, also because its uniqueness is the source of its advantage. Although a lot of local rice varieties have not been developed, a number of unique rice varieties have their own market share and make them premium rice varieties, such as pandanwangi. In Indonesia, pandanwangi rice has been known as a superior rice having a distinctive taste and aroma, and has high economic value. Technically, pandanwangi rice cultivation is different from other rice varieties that are massively developed in Indonesia such as IR or Ciherang. Due to its characteristics, pandanwangi rice cultivation requires a higher effort and longer cultivation time than the others. This paper briefly describes the objective conditions of pandanwangi rice, particularly related to the problems in its development, describes the social relation among institutions to develop pandanwangi varieties, and describes strategic changes needed to improve pandanwangi rice performance. This paper is a mix of field visit results, through in-depth interview and FGD, and literature review relating to issues above. The result shows that in pandanwangi case, high potential has not automatically resulted in high development of the variety as well as farmer wealth. Several problems from on farm conditions to regulatory policies have brought about low growth or even stagnant development of pandanwangi. Economic aspects were not the main motivation of farmers to cultivate, compared to social aspects and the power of regulator. Hence, in order to improve pandanwangi performance to be competitive, integration among actors, institutions and learning processes is definitely necessary.