The fluctuation of rice production of tidal swampland on climate change condition (Case of South Kalimantan Province in Indonesia)

Abstract

Indonesia has a wet tropical climate which is part of its territory crossed by the equator. The rice planting period in Indonesia follows the climatic conditions generally divided into two planting seasons, namely the rainy season from October to March and the dry season from April to September. Almost every 3 to 5 years extreme climate changes occur namely El-Nino and La-Nina which have an impact on rice production. Nationally, the extreme climate phenomenon above showed the effect on rice production. El-Nino during the year 1970–2010 was reported to cause a decrease in rice production around -4.08%, while La-Nina in the same period caused an increase in production by about 1.78%. However, the two extreme climatic conditions had reduced rice productivity by -0.50% and -0.65%, respectively. Most of the tidal swamplands have long been cleared and used for the cultivation of lowland rice. In an effort to optimize tidal swampland as a source of rice production in the future, several strategic actions are needed. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the effects of extreme climate change (El-Nino and La-Nina) on rice production and productivity in tidal swamplands and strategic efforts to overcome the decline in rice production due to the extreme climate changes.