Dry Season, 10 Thousand Hectares Of Land In NTB Drought

The buffaloherder in the dry rain rice fields in Penujak Village, Praya, Central Lombok, NTB, Tuesday 17 September 2024. (ANTARA PHOTO-Ahmad Subaidi)

JAKARTA - The Agriculture and Plantation Office of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province revealed that the dry season currently causes 10 thousand hectares of agricultural land to experience drought.

Head of the NTB Agriculture and Plantation Service Muhammad Taufieq Hidayat said the areas affected by drought were in Bima, Dompu, Sumbawa, East Lombok, and Central Lombok Regencies.

"A total of about 10 thousand hectares are affected by the widespread drought," said Taufieq in Mataram, NTB, Thursday, September 19, which was confiscated by Antara.

Taufieq said the situation had little impact on food production in West Nusa Tenggara, because there was a program to expand the planting area or PAT with a target of 51 thousand hectares.

The PAT program has been realized with a planting area of approximately 65 percent of the target or equivalent to 33,150 hectares.

Since early May 2024 or the second planting season, the government has mitigated the impact of the expansion of drought through pumping and irrigation programs in West Nusa Tenggara.

"A total of 4 thousand pumps have been distributed to farmer groups and have been utilized by approximately 50 percent and the rest are still in the process of being installed," said Taufieq.

The form of drought mitigation through the pumping and irrigation program of pumping is a form of cooperation between the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and the NTB Agriculture and Plantation Service, as well as the district/city Agriculture Service throughout West Nusa Tenggara.

In addition to supporting the expansion of the land area, the program is also used for rescue in the added area of planting or LTT in the second planting season and the third planting season.

"God willing, West Nusa Tenggara can still fulfill its obligations as one of the provinces of national food barns," said Taufieq.

Based on previous reports, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts the potential for drought in West Nusa Tenggara will expand because the peak of the dry season will still take place in September 2024.

On the second basis of September 2024 (11-20 September 2024) the potential for rain is very low. The potential for rain with light to moderate intensity (>20mm/dasarian) occurs in a small part of West Nusa Tenggara.

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) stated that the presence of tropical cyclones was reviewed and 89W, which is now north of Indonesia, to be precise, Philippine waters make water vapor attracted to the northern region.

"The tropical cyclone Pulasan and 89W in the north make the convection system move north and Indonesia clean from clouds and dry again," concluded BRIN Climate and Atmospheric Researcher Erma Yulihastin.