This paper’s working hypothesis is that the indigenous farming practices of Timorese farmers are those most suitable and adaptable with regard to these farmers’ circumstances. Intensive farming and the acceleration of land conversion in Java lead to a reduction in favorable cropland and the degradation of soil biology. To meet the demand for food production, unfavorable areas outside Java, including marginal semi-arid areas on Timor Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, have become an important option. Unfortunately, the national crop production policy has paid less attention to the specific biophysical characteristics of the region and how local people have adapted to the diverse marginal environment. We review the literature in the areas of soil nutrition retention and soil biology, vegetation/crop diversity, and farming practices/management, including local wisdom on soil management. This paper highlights that the values of the chemical parameters of the soils in question are varied, but generally range from low to high. The existence of beneficial micro-organisms is important both for improving soil fertility and due to their association with local vegetation/crops. Traditional farming practices, such as the local agroforestry of Mamar, have effectively preserved the existence of micro-organisms that promote conservation practices, crop/vegetation diversity, and sustainable agriculture. We recommend that the expansion of croplands and crop production into marginal semi-arid areas needs to be considered and adapted while taking into consideration sustainability and environmentally sound traditional practices.

Risk and uncertainty in grain crop production are common in marginal semi-arid environments, such as East Nusa Tenggara province. Growing root and tuber crops in a mixed-cropping system is one of the strategies developed by smallholder farmers to substitute food grains and minimize risk. Nevertheless, root and tuber crops are not prioritized for food production systems since food crops in Indonesia are based more on grain and wetland rice production systems. This paper reviews cassava crops, which are widely cultivated by smallholder farmers. This paper contributes to understanding the roles of cassava for smallholder farmers, the diversity of the cassava germ plasm, the progress made to increase cassava productivity, and the potency of cassava crops to improve farmers’ incomes. This paper highlights that, in the low and erratic rainfall of dominant semi-arid regions, the development of cassava is pivotal to secure the harvest of food crops or food availability and income generation for marginal farmers.

The opening of a new area needs to be investigated so that its land resources can be used to determine land suitability for certain uses so that the area of other uses (APL) in Siempat Rube Sub-district needs to be supported with information on land suitability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of APL land suitability level and analyse improvement efforts to increase productivity on APL in Siempat Rube District. The research was used the survey method. Units of land were based on land maps. The research data were analysed using the matching method. Soil characteristics in Siempat Rube Sub district, both physical and chemical, have very diverse characteristics which can be a limiting or supporting factor in the development of agricultural crops, especially the development of irrigated rice fields. The actual land suitability for paddy fields were not suitable (N) (2629.44 ha) and marginally suitable (S3) (638.26 ha). After efforts to improve the level of potential land suitability for paddy to become not suitable (N) covering an area of 29.31 ha and marginally suitable (S3) covering an area of 3238.39 ha.

Rice is grown in various environments across semi-arid areas of ENT province. This paper elaborates agricultural innovations delivered to the smallholder rice farmers and highlights their responses/adaptability. The research conducted in the state boundary of Indonesia-Timor Leste as part of AIAT-ENT program. The study showed that farmers having more access to rice innovation sources tend to adopt better and willing to purchase for external inputs. By adopting introduced rice innovations, co-operatives farmers in state boundaries were able to improve rice productivity from 1 – 2 ton/ha to 5 – 7.2 ton/ha. After 3 years of AIS implementation, almost all farmers have been continuously HYVs of rice. However, the sustainability of the innovation’s adoption has commonly disrupted by the availability of external inputs. Numerous rice-related innovations have been introduced; however, smallholder farmers were keen to adopt only limited ones that suitable with their specific environment and household circumstances. The study concluded that rice innovations delivered to improve rice productivity in semi-arid areas should be focus on specific target groups that suitable their environments and household’ circumstances. Rice-related innovations should be delivered in the broader context not merely to increase rice productivity, rather to improve smallholder semi-arid farmers’ resilience for food security.