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.

An experiment was conducted to measure forage production of Leucaena leucocephala cv Tarramba planted in a multiple rows of live fencing model. Plants were arranged in 8 rows which planted 2 meters from the main live fence of 1ha land. The plants were cut at of 1m height and then again at +30cm from the ground level. Measurement of forage production was conducted to observe its ability in providing forage. Areas of 8x20 m on each of the 4 land sides (replications) were allocated for the measurements. Half of the observation plot (8x10m) was allocated for 2 months cutting interval and the other half (8x10m) were allocated for 4 months cutting interval. Measurements conducted were on fresh and dry matter of edible parts (leaf and stem skin), plant height, stem diameter and number of branches. The results showed that each plant produced in average of 8 to 11 branches at 2 months interval, while the 4 months interval produced 2 to 4 branches only. Plant heights and diameters were 150-280 cm and 0.6-2.5 cm on the 2 months cutting interval, and from 465-560 cm and 2.6-3.4 cm on the 4 months cutting interval. At 2 months interval, two harvests produced a total edible DM of 4 ton. While the 4 months interval obtained 1 harvest with 3.6 tons DM per harvest, able to support about 4-5 heads of Bali cattle for fattening during the 4 months. Thus, during the wet season the 2 months cutting interval is recommended.

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.

<p>Plasmanutfah padi gogo lokal NTT sudah pernah dikoleksi dan dievaluasi sebanyak 97 aksesi oleh tim peneliti Balai Besar Biogen Bogor pada tahun 1997 yang berhasil mengkoleksi 97 aksesi dari 19 kabupaten di NTT dan dilanjutkan dengan kegiatan koleksi dan karakterisasi oleh Pengkajian Teknologi (BPTP) NTT yang telah mengkoleksi 61 aksesi tanaman padi gogo lokal NTT dari 11 kabupaten di NTT. Kabupaten Sumba Barat Daya adalah salah satu wilayah yang memiliki aksesi padi gogo yang terbanyak yaitu sebanyak 20 aksesi karena itu telah dilakukan karakteristik 20 aksesi dari Kabupaten Sumba Barat Daya dengan menggunakan descriptor Standard Evaliation Sysrem (SES) IRRI 1996. Dari hasil karakterisasi ini disimpulkan bahwa terdapat variasi karakteristik agronomi dan fenotip yang sangat besar antar aksesi padi gogo lokal tersebut dan Karakter yang paling menunjukkan keragaman antar aksesi adalah bentuk permukaan daun, sudut daun bendera, warna pelepah daun, warna gabah, warna kulit arid an peoduktivitas padi. Berdasarkan kemiripan karakteristik yang dievaluasi, terdapat empat kelompok padi local Sumba Barat Daya. Karena itu menejemen pengelolaan plasmanutfah padi local di NTT maupun di tingkat nasional perlu dirancang dan dilaksanakan dengan bijaksana sehingga keragaman padi gogo local yang ada dapat dipertahankan sebagai kekayaan untuk keperluan pembentukan varietas unggul di masa depan.</p>

This study focuses on land cover and land management changes in relation to food security and environmental services in a semi-arid area of East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) – Indonesia. The study was conducted in Central Sumba District of ENT Province. Classification and regression tree (CART) for land cover classification has been analyzed using machine learning techniques using Google Earth Engine. A survey with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and followed with in-depth interviews were conducted for primary data collection involving a total of 871 respondents. The Socio-economic data analyzed statistics descriptively and non-parametric tests. The study showed that: 1). There has been a substantial land use change during the devo-lution era that has both positive and negative implications for food security and envi-ronmental services. 2). There has been population pressure in the fertile or agricultur-al land as the direct impact of the development of city infrastructures; and 3). Nation-al intervention through the Food Estate program has fostered and shaped land use change and land management in Central Sumba District. The study highlights the importance that the devolution spirit should help to well manage the limited ara-ble/agricultural land in dominated semi-arid to ensure food security and environment services.