Water management for increase rice production in the tidal swampland of Kalimantan, Indonesia: constraints, limitedness and opportunities

Abstract

Water management is a key factor in the development of swampland for agriculture, especially rice. Naturally, swampland is affected by water tide from the sea or river during spring and neap tide. Micro water management greatly influences the success of farming in swampland. The functions of micro water management: improvement of land quality, leaching out of ions and toxic compounds, controlling of certain weeds and pests, plant growth and yield, and mitigating of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. There are many factors influence the increasing rice production in swampland through improved water management. For example, the implementation of a one-way water flow system or a dam overflow system is restricted by tide strength, canal dimensions, and construction and operational of water gate. Support of water supply network infrastructure is important and influences land productivity and cropping intensity. In poor swamp irrigation areas (SIA), most farmers can only plant once a year (Cropping Index, CI=100) with productivity 2-3 t ha-1. But in a good SIA, the yield reaches 6-7 t ha-1 and 2-3 planting times a year (CI 180-200). The implementation of water management in agriculture in swampland also requires the participation of farmers and solid institutional of water administrator. This paper is a review of several research results on the implementation of water management in tidal swampland that have been carried out by Indonesian Swampland Agricultural Research Institute (ISARI). This paper will address the constraints, limitations and opportunities of water management including an effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change through water management in tidal swampland of Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Current Condition in Lowland Irrigation Area Tahai: Challenges and Solutions

“…Pyrite content in acid sulfate soils is a severe problem for rice growth [3]. This idea is also revealed by Noor in [2], where some chemical characteristics of tidal lowland soil are low content of macronutrients and micronutrients and have a layer of pyrite (FeS2). Under anaerobic conditions or reduction, the pyrite component in the soil is still stable.…”

“…If the elbow pipe is enforced, the water in the channel is still stored. Conversely, the elbow pipe can be lowered so that the water in the channel flows out into the collector channel [2].…”

“…In fact, the reclamation phase takes a very long time. The reclamation process in time and management terms must be enhanced so that the lowland can genuinely develop into a paddy production source [2].…”

Behavior of Flow of Channel Network of Dadahup Swampy Irrigation Area

“…Swamp areas are also dominated by peat soil types which are very susceptible to changes in physical properties (especially the drainage capacity) due to land management. [5,12] Management of peatlands, including peatland development programs (PLG) that are accompanied by logging and construction of canal networks, can cause the drainage ability of this land to change. Subsequent changes in drainage ability can cause the ground to become very dry and difficult to return to its previous state.…”

Hydraulic Study on The Use of Gates to Improve Drainage Performance of Dadahup Lowland Irrigation Area

“…The productivity of irrigated rice fields should reach 8 tons/ha/year [5]. Another opinion stated that an irrigated area with good conditions, farmers are able to crop paddy two or three times per year producing 5-7 ton/ha/year of high-yielding paddy variety [6].…”