Langsa, Ekuatorial – Eco-friendly agriculture practice, dubbed as System Rice Intensification (SRI), turned out to be more profitable than regular agricultural method, said a farmer in Langsa, on Monday (17/11).
The SRI method is an eco-friendly agricultural practice which intensified land use and use organic products, especially for its fertilizers. This type of agriculture is considered as healthy and low budget.
With SRI method, Aceh farmers can harvest 1,200 kilogram per 400 cubic meters compare to previously 120 kg per 400 cubic meters.
For its healthy and low budget but maximum result, young farmers of Each Aceh and Aceh Tamiang districts, and Langsa city, namely Sulaiman, Awaluddin, Kasdi, Kontoro Hadi, Halimuddin, Azhari, Agusnaini, and Andre, have adopted the SRI method in their villages.
“We have been practicing and developing the knowledge we get from school by doing researches in villages,” said Awaluddin adding that they also inventoried types of plants chosen to developed in the research.
Sulaiman, a young farmer of East Aceh district, has been developing SRI method and managed to increase his production from limited land. In conventional farm, one rante or 400 cubic meters of land produced 120 kilograms or 12 cans of rice. Meanwhile, from SRI method, one rante or 400 cubic meters of land can produce 1,200 kilograms or 25 cans of rice. “So, for 5 rante, we can produce a minimum of 1.3 tons of paddy,” said Sulaiman.
Awaluddin said that there were different types of land between Aceh and Java island. Aceh has higher acidity compare to Java which becomes common mistake for Aceh farmers who use fertilizers which increase acidity, not lower it down.
In addition to developing paddy, organic melon and vegetables, they also developing organic fertilizers and environmentally-friendly toxic by considering the type of the pest and land. Ivo Lestari
