4 Integration into Development: Translating International …
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Government’s Nawacita programme, which is the seventh Nawacita programme to
enhance economic sustainability. The BMKG states that yields from CFS Phase 3
activities show an increase in production of up to 30% compared to its production
average, showing that the presence of CFS activities on farmer groups can increase
agricultural productivity. Information from the Gunung Kidul District Agriculture
Service states that the last CFS activities were carried out in Gunung Kidul District in
2016/2017 with facilitation funds from the World Bank. The implementation of CFS
consists of three stages, namely CFS stage 1/Agro-climate Socialization (CFS-1) for
Local Governments/Related Services, CFS stage 2 (CFS-2) for Agricultural Extension (PPL/POPT) and CFS stage 3 (CFS-3) for Farmers and Farmers Groups. In
CFS-1 there were 1386 participants, 551 CFS-2 participants and 1023 CFS-3 participants, who joined in 40 farmer groups. Nowadays 33 provinces have participated in
the CFS.
Those interviewed felt the positive benefits of activities facilitated, including
involving staff and researchers from the IAARD through the Hydrological Research
Institute and Agro-climate (Balitklimat). Yet, the CFS had a number of programmatic
design issues that prevented the effectiveness and ability of the programme to properly engage with participants. The timeframes of the CFS did not allow the farmers’
knowledge and practices to adapt to the CFS and incorporate the CFS practices to
climate change. Firstly, rather than being held in the rainy season, CFS activities
were held during the dry season, when there were limited rainfall and so fewer agricultural activities taking place. Ultimately, failing to allow any demonstration to do
what ‘in season’ should take place according to the farmer field school approach.
At the same time, in 2018, there was no allocation of funds from the Gunung Kidul
District Budget for the facilitation of the CFS Programme. The absence of this fund
allocation is due to the CFS programme no longer being prioritised. At the time of
writing—no further information about plans to continue or follow-up of the CFS at
this site since were planned to follow on from the 2010 implementation in Gunung
Kidul.
The farmers’ learning process also terminated once the CFS ended as potential understanding was lost in the CFS learning only being introduced as a once-off
whereby farmers were unable to make further use of such ‘once-introduced learning’.
Whereas climate variability and more severe extreme events, as well as their impacts
on plants and soil, require ongoing detailed observation, and depend on farmer confidence gained through years of experience. This meant that sustaining continuity in
the programme maintained at each site was crucial. Information on projected rainfall was disseminated by the BMKG. However, the farmers complained that they
did not receive any locally valid information in a timely fashion, or in forms that
they could easily understand, to serve as the basis for their actions. Farmers in
Gunung Kidul widely use Pranoto Mongso (see Retnowati et al. 2014). Pranoto
Mongso also used in Kulon Progo) is an inherited traditional knowledge seasonal
calendar which has been acknowledged and considered as part of cultural identity
in central Javanese agricultural-based communities. Part of which includes reading
signs from nature, known as “titen”, and built into farmers’ process of observing agrometeorological changes by observing, recording, analysing and evaluating existing
71
Government’s Nawacita programme, which is the seventh Nawacita programme to
enhance economic sustainability. The BMKG states that yields from CFS Phase 3
activities show an increase in production of up to 30% compared to its production
average, showing that the presence of CFS activities on farmer groups can increase
agricultural productivity. Information from the Gunung Kidul District Agriculture
Service states that the last CFS activities were carried out in Gunung Kidul District in
2016/2017 with facilitation funds from the World Bank. The implementation of CFS
consists of three stages, namely CFS stage 1/Agro-climate Socialization (CFS-1) for
Local Governments/Related Services, CFS stage 2 (CFS-2) for Agricultural Extension (PPL/POPT) and CFS stage 3 (CFS-3) for Farmers and Farmers Groups. In
CFS-1 there were 1386 participants, 551 CFS-2 participants and 1023 CFS-3 participants, who joined in 40 farmer groups. Nowadays 33 provinces have participated in
the CFS.
Those interviewed felt the positive benefits of activities facilitated, including
involving staff and researchers from the IAARD through the Hydrological Research
Institute and Agro-climate (Balitklimat). Yet, the CFS had a number of programmatic
design issues that prevented the effectiveness and ability of the programme to properly engage with participants. The timeframes of the CFS did not allow the farmers’
knowledge and practices to adapt to the CFS and incorporate the CFS practices to
climate change. Firstly, rather than being held in the rainy season, CFS activities
were held during the dry season, when there were limited rainfall and so fewer agricultural activities taking place. Ultimately, failing to allow any demonstration to do
what ‘in season’ should take place according to the farmer field school approach.
At the same time, in 2018, there was no allocation of funds from the Gunung Kidul
District Budget for the facilitation of the CFS Programme. The absence of this fund
allocation is due to the CFS programme no longer being prioritised. At the time of
writing—no further information about plans to continue or follow-up of the CFS at
this site since were planned to follow on from the 2010 implementation in Gunung
Kidul.
The farmers’ learning process also terminated once the CFS ended as potential understanding was lost in the CFS learning only being introduced as a once-off
whereby farmers were unable to make further use of such ‘once-introduced learning’.
Whereas climate variability and more severe extreme events, as well as their impacts
on plants and soil, require ongoing detailed observation, and depend on farmer confidence gained through years of experience. This meant that sustaining continuity in
the programme maintained at each site was crucial. Information on projected rainfall was disseminated by the BMKG. However, the farmers complained that they
did not receive any locally valid information in a timely fashion, or in forms that
they could easily understand, to serve as the basis for their actions. Farmers in
Gunung Kidul widely use Pranoto Mongso (see Retnowati et al. 2014). Pranoto
Mongso also used in Kulon Progo) is an inherited traditional knowledge seasonal
calendar which has been acknowledged and considered as part of cultural identity
in central Javanese agricultural-based communities. Part of which includes reading
signs from nature, known as “titen”, and built into farmers’ process of observing agrometeorological changes by observing, recording, analysing and evaluating existing