Looking Towards the Future in Drylands

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Yohanes Lalang

A long dry season followed by crop failure is a common occurrence in East Nusa Tenggara. But Yohanes Lalang refused to be defeated by such circumstances. Through a series of experiments, he was able to prove that farming was possible on arid land. Going further, he trained more than 1,500 youths in dryland farming.

Yohanes Lalang, 56, was instructing 50 agriculture students from SMKN 1 Kupang vocational school in dryland farming on Thursday afternoon (3/10/2019). They were learning about arid agriculture and the characteristic of crop plants that were suitable for drylands. Some plants required special care to develop well.

Lalang was teaching them about soil conditions, seeding techniques, selecting quality seeds, transplanting seedlings, fertilizing, monitoring, pest management and efficient irrigation using a network of drip hoses (drip irrigation). He also instructed them in bokashi composting for amending the soil and in grafting techniques.

The students looked enthusiastic at the training workshop. They paid attention to the simplest subjects, like how to tie a long bean vine to a wooden stake. The plants are grown against a parallel row of stakes.

Lalang motivated the vocational school students and church youths by speaking to them about the advantages of life as a dryland farmer.

The day’s workshop was part of a scheduled training series that the Abdi Laboratus Agriculture and Rural Self-subsistence Training Center (P4S) has been holding since 2006 in Tarus, Kupang. The institute only received recognition as a mid-level training center for interns from the Agriculture Minister in 2013.

Lalang led 30 training sessions in September that involved 1,540 vocational high school students, university students and church youths, 1,050 of who have farms. Some of the trainees were interested in pursuing agriculture or husbandry programs at university.

Lalang motivated the vocational school students and church youths by speaking to them about the advantages of life as a dryland farmer. To illustrate, he referred to several successful dryland farmers who cultivated horticultural crops, including himself. These farmers had built luxury homes, sent their children to school, owned cars and had no difficulty making money.

Keep trying

Lalang was motivated to become a dryland farmer in 2005, when he read news on crop failures that nearly all farmers in East Nusa Tenggara had experienced during the long dry season, which lasts roughly nine months of a year. The crops that generally failed were dryland rice, corn and tubers. Crop failures frequently caused catastrophic food shortages and contributed to the prevalence of malnutrition in the province.

With the right technique, he discovered that crops could be grown on arid land. In short, Lalang succeeded in his experiment.

Lalang felt that the crops should not have failed, although the long dry season was characteristic of NTT. He believed there must be another way around the situation. He visited the Gramedia bookstore in Kupang for books on agriculture. He tried to apply what he learned from the books, that farmers should not be dependent on just one or two crops, like rice.

A year later, he tried cultivating horticultural crops such as Chinese mustard, tomatoes, chilies, spinach, cabbage and several kinds of herbs in 10 raised beds he built on a 500-square-meter plot behind his house. The raised beds he built were mounds of loose soil that he covered with plastic to retain soil moisture.

With the right technique, he discovered that crops could be grown on arid land. In short, Lalang succeeded in his experiment.

"I made Rp 45 million from a single harvest of five crops. I can have three harvests in a year. This motivated me to continue farming, and I wanted to share my experience with others farmers about the benefits of cultivating horticultural crops, herbs and fruits," said Lalang.

He also set up five local farmers groups in his neighborhood, and taught them about successful farming methods. He then introduced the crops he grew at home as a model for the farmers groups. He stressed that dryland farming could generate a significant income that would secure their welfare.

Lalang provides his input and views on the dryland farming system to the researchers.

"One raised bed measuring 35 meters long and 50 centimeters wide can be planted three times a year. It is first planted with tomatoes, which can produce up to Rp 27 million in income. Three crops will earn a farmer Rp 81 million. Market traders come here to pick up the [tomatoes], and this does not include the chilies, Chinese mustard, long beans and broccoli cultivated on 24 other beds," Lalang said, smiling.

He then expanded the variety of vegetables he cultivated, selecting those with high market value like shallots, carrots and beans.

Over time, Lalang’s horticultural farm expanded from 10 to 25 beds. His raised beds range from 15-40 meters long and are 500 centimeters wide. A lecturer from Kupang State Agricultural Polytechnic is currently conducting field research at Lalang\'s farm. In the past, 15 lecturers and 35 agriculture students from several Kupang universities had also used his farm for their research.

Lalang provides his input and views on the dryland farming system to the researchers. He believed that books by agriculture experts in Java and other regions could not be applied in dryland regions like NTT because of the different weather and soil conditions. Unlike in Java, the dry season in NTT can last up to nine months. Aside from its arid land, most of NTT has rocky soil. Lalang encouraged the researchers to publish a book on dryland agriculture in NTT.

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Yohanes Lalang empowers young people through agriculture.

Motivation

After his success in cultivating vegetables, Lalang explored cultivating fruit trees like orange, papaya, sapodilla, mango, hybrid coconut and sandalwood trees. He tried producing seedlings.

Incidentally, the regencies of Kupang, Rote Ndao and South Central Timor were interested in buying thousands of seedlings from Lalang for their reforestation projects. They purchased the seedlings for Rp 2,000-Rp 3,000 each. This led the way to an opportunity for wider cooperation with the regencies, and Lalang opened the doors P4S Abdi Laboratus to welcome agriculture and plantation vocational school students.

About three years ago, P4S Abdi Laboratus received assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which covered a multipurpose hall, a 166-meter artesian well, and two professional education and training programs for 50 participants. "This was the only assistance I had received after 13 years," said Lalang, who added that he was grateful for the assistance.

He plans to continue using the assistance to continue developing his training workshops on dryland agriculture. For Lalang, the workshops are not just for teaching farming techniques; more importantly, they were for raising motivation and awareness that the agriculture industry still had a bright future, especially among the local youth.

After reiterating the successes dryland farmers had achieved, he stressed: "So don\'t just dream about becoming a civil servant."

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Yohanes Lalang

Yohanes Lalang

Born: Kedang, Lembata, 17 Aug. 1963

Spouse: Bibiana Boleng

Children: Benediktus Robby Rattu, 31; Agustinus Ary Lewakapu, 16

Education: Animal Husbandry Faculty, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang (to fifth semester)

Occupation: Dryland farmer; Director, P4S Abdi Laboratus