No abstract

No abstract

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.

Corn waste agricultural by-product that can be used for animal feed at Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) has a longer dry climate than the rainy ones,  caused difficulties in terms of feeding. Farmers utilize corn waste as feed resource. This study was carried out to determine the potential  corn waste and evaluate the potential capacities of livestock from corn waste as animal feed. The data was obtained from farmer group, collected during December 2019 to April 2020 in Oeteta Village, Kupang Timur - NTT. The data of corn waste material production included corn straw (stalks and leaves), corn cob, and corn husk in 7 hectares area. Data were collected by using the survey with simple random sampling for estimation of carrying capacity value. The results  showed that the fresh corn waste production  on the land area of 7 hectares in the Oeteta village were fresh corn straw (451,101 kg year-1), corn cob (65,225.58 kg  year-1), corn husk (10,870.86 kg year-1), and total 527,197.44 kg year-1 of corn waste production. Utilization of corn waste as feed stock with the use of 30% in the ration generated a carrying capacity of 352 cattle and 2,464 goats respectively, have a carrying capacity 352 head of beef cattle and 2,464 head of goats, whereas if the use was 40% in the ration, the carrying capacity was 264 cattle and 1,851 goats.  It could be concluded that the feed from corn waste available in Oeteta Village, Kupang Regency, NTT, which is 7 ha of area have sufficient carrying capacity for livestock. Key words:        carrying capacity, corn waste, Oeteta Nusa Tenggara Timur