Several farmers in Wanasari village, Wanasari district, Brebes regency, Central Java, load their harvested shallots onto a vehicle on Saturday (18/2). The farmers were forced to harvest hectares of shallots earlier than scheduled in Wanasari district as the farms had been flooded, damaging shallot quality. Many other farmers are facing harvest failures.
With a nervous face, Udin, 31, dried wet shallots beside the village road under the sun following cloudy weather in the morning. The flooding caused by the Pemali River bursting its banks in Brebes had forced the local farmers to harvest their shallots earlier than planned.
A bad harvest causes millions of rupiah of financial losses. "At the time I was bargaining with a prospective buyer. He wanted to buy 15 quintals for Rp 35 million, but I was asking for Rp 50 million. Then the flood suddenly came. My shallots were all inundated. The price fell," Udin said on Saturday at his shallot farm in Siasem village, Wanasari district, Brebes, Central Java.
That afternoon, he was drying two quintals of shallots that had been harvested 10 days earlier than scheduled. After being submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for a day and a night, Udin decided to harvest his shallots early, although they had only been planted in early January. If he had not made the decision immediately, the harvest could have been worse and the losses would have doubled.
However, the quality of the shallots is very poor because they are sodden. Drying the shallots reduces the water content, but does not improve the quality.
Udin said that he usually earned Rp 14 million from his 1,250-sq.m. shallot farm but now he had only received Rp 8 million. He said it was not a problem, the most important thing was that the payment covered the cost of production, which reached around Rp 6 million. “It’s better than not being able to get a loan," Udin said.
The fate of Wamin, 70, another shallot farmer living in Wanasari village, Wanasari district, was even worse. The overflowing Pemali River last Thursday inundated his 900 sq.m. shallot farm. In fact, his shallots had only been planted for about 20 days. Since they had been planted, he had spent at least Rp 7 million covering the cost of production. He was prepared to see his shallot crop fail as the plants had been covered in water and mud.
However, Wamin refused to give up. He tried to save the shallot crop by spraying on insecticides and fertilizer. "It looks as though the crop will fail anyway, but there is no harm in trying,” he added.
Inundated
According to Brebes Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) data, the floods had affected at least six villages in Brebes, inundating hundreds of hectares of rice fields. The financial losses suffered by farmers are believed to reach tens of millions of rupiah per hectare.
In addition to submerging farmland, the floods also hit at least 1,000 homes, forcing more than 5,200 people to evacuate.
One of the worst areas affected is located in Limbangan Kulon village in Brebes district. The water reached 1.5 meters deep in some places, forcing people to evacuate to mosques and nearby shelters. Food and logistics were flowing to temporary settlement areas.
However, within a few kilometers of the temporary settlement, Sali Nur, 43, and three of his family tried to survive under a tarpaulin. Sali was unable to walk to the shelter because his youngest child was sick. He was worried that the presence of his family in the shelter would disturb other villagers.
Finally, the construction worker decided to set up a small tarpaulin tent in the front yard of his house, which is located at a high enough level. Under the orange tarpaulin, Sali is living with his wife and two children. However, sleeping under just a tarpaulin has caused his eldest son to be hit by fever.
As Sali has run out of money, he can only wait for the help of others to eat. He has only cooked rice. He also had to buy a gallon of water. "They only get food from other people. Crackers are fine, we can eat rice with crackers," Sali added.
Solidarity
The current flood is considered among the most severe to hit Brebes and has attracted the sympathy of many groups. One of the flood mitigation centers is located in front of the Brebes Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building and food and logistics have continued to flow there from various areas and communities. Individuals, groups, young and old have all brought various kinds of aid for the flood victims as a show of solidarity.
Among them were fourth semester students from Bhakti Mandala Health Institute, Slawi regency. "We were moved because the impact of the overflowing river was so severe. We brought food, drinks and pampers," Tomi Sugiarto, 21, one of the students, said.
Helps also came from the Bulakamba Muhammadiyah vocational high school in Brebes. The school’s deputy head, Wahyudi Wilson, said the students had brought in logistical support, including food, drinks and snacks for children. "We surveyed the area first and saw there were many children," he said.
On Sunday, the floods quickly receded and the displaced people began to return home. However, those living along the banks of the Pemali River hoped that the government would immediately repair the river banks. They need more than just emergency treatment, they are asking for permanent repairs otherwise they will never be able to sleep soundly during the rainy season and will continue to face the threat of disaster.
