Seventy Years of Rice Crop Cultivation in Tidal Swampland: Potential, Constraints, and Limitations

Abstract

The reclamation of tidal rice fields has a long history, from the beginning to seventy years of independence. Around 3.4 million ha of swamp land have been utilized, including 2.8 million ha to produce rice. An available area of 15.75 million ha has not been reclaimed from 20.10 million ha. The gap is quite large between the vast potential and suitable land for agriculture (cultivation). On the other hand, the farmer’s productivity is still low, around 2–3 t ha of dry-milled rice, while it had reported can be achieved at 4.5–7.5 t ha . It also indicated a difference between farmers and the results of the study. The obstacles faced in swamp land development are complex and varied, including soil acidity, water management, drainage, toxic elements and compounds, macro and micronutrient deficiencies, pests, and plant diseases. The plans and implementation of programs/projects that have been implemented by the government provide lessons that the development of tidal swamp land is faced with inadequate support for water management infrastructure; planning and implementation steps are still partial, and it seems that each road sector is independent without proper management and not integrated one each other; service and marketing institutions are still weak and limited so that they do not have an impact on the welfare of farmers.