The Challenge of Rice Farming in Urbanized Region: The case of Sragen District, Central Java.

Abstract

Land conversion and food security are two related aspects that should be part of managing the system of cities and their surrounding regions. Rapid land conversion in fertile soil can be caused by hardship to get continuous water supply for agricultural system, competition over development sectors, or limited income from agricultural sectors. This paper investigates what challenges should be countered by the rice farming in rapidly urbanized region and what strategies should be applied to overcome the challenge. The study uses case study method with Sragen District for macro level analysis, and Gondang and Sragen, two sub-districts in Sragen District for micro level analysis. Interviews, survey with questionnaire, and focus group discussion are conducted for data collection The results show that Sragen District is experiencing decreasing number of agricultural workforce and contribution of agricultural sector to its GRDP. Low productivity of agricultural sector, especially of rice farming, due to small plot of rice field, high production cost, and difficulty to maintain continuous water supply for irrigation due to competition over water for irrigation and domestic uses are among the problems encountered by farmers. More strict regulation regarding variation of water function and uses, by multi stakeholders, and subsidy for agricultural input are required to secure the sustainability of rice farming in urbanized region that in the end will affect the sustainability of food and agriculture.