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A. Pratiwi et al.
Introduction
Climate change poses challenges on the future of agriculture and the livelihood of
the global population. Assessment report developed by the IPCC’s Working Group
II in 2014 focused on two challenging topics, namely agriculture and food security
(Field 2014). Chapter 7 specifically outlined the current effects of climate change, the
projected decline in crop production by 2030 that may follow, and what farmers can
do to mitigate some of the negative impacts of climate change. The report concludes
that adaptation of current crops production and farming techniques will be key to a
sustainable future, and mitigating the effects on agriculture will require concerted
efforts from intersectoral stakeholders.
In Indonesia, climate change presents significant risks to meet the demand of
production and distribution of food. The country’s population has increased at an
average rate of 1.49% during the period of 2000–2010 (Firman 2016), causing
pressures on Indonesia’s already limited resources to ensure food security of its
growing population. Poverty alleviation too remains a challenge with 10.96% of
Indonesia’s population still living in poverty in 2014 (Indonesia 2015). At the same
time, deforestation, forest fires, and degradation of peat land have placed the country
as the world’s fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the largest contributor of
forest-based emission (Wijaya et al. 2017). Apart from the deteriorating environment,
climate change will increase economic vulnerability of the smallholder producers
due to significant projected decrease in yields. More intense rainfall is predicted,
which can result in about 2–3% more rainfall each year, in addition to decreased soil
fertility by 2–8%, leading to the declining share of rice yields by 4% per year and
maize by 50% per year (Sari et al. 2007).
It is therefore critical for Indonesia to achieve its national climate pledges in
keeping the earth temperature rise well below the 2 °C threshold called for in the
Paris Agreement. As outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
document to the Paris Accord, Indonesia has set ambitious goals related to production and consumption of food, through integrated plans to build resilient food system
through the enhanced actions on sustainable agriculture and plantation (Indonesia
2015). One imperative measure is to introduce short-term climate adaptation and
long-term mitigation strategies to the actors involved in the food systems, who are
primarily agricultural producers. However, governments often fail to provide incentives to increase the demand for adaptation and to implement efficient strategies
for the agricultural producers who are mostly the smallholders. Past studies have
also shown that barriers to adaptation and mitigation practices are high, primarily
due to technical, information, and cultural constraints. For instance, “Climate Field
School” in Indramayu region in 2003 was carried out to promote adaptive application of climate forecasts to crop selection decisions, but after 5 years, adoption
is virtually non-existent (Siregar and Crane 2011). This is due to perceived risks
associated with such practices and lack of understanding of the benefits. In Papua,
A. Pratiwi et al.
Introduction
Climate change poses challenges on the future of agriculture and the livelihood of
the global population. Assessment report developed by the IPCC’s Working Group
II in 2014 focused on two challenging topics, namely agriculture and food security
(Field 2014). Chapter 7 specifically outlined the current effects of climate change, the
projected decline in crop production by 2030 that may follow, and what farmers can
do to mitigate some of the negative impacts of climate change. The report concludes
that adaptation of current crops production and farming techniques will be key to a
sustainable future, and mitigating the effects on agriculture will require concerted
efforts from intersectoral stakeholders.
In Indonesia, climate change presents significant risks to meet the demand of
production and distribution of food. The country’s population has increased at an
average rate of 1.49% during the period of 2000–2010 (Firman 2016), causing
pressures on Indonesia’s already limited resources to ensure food security of its
growing population. Poverty alleviation too remains a challenge with 10.96% of
Indonesia’s population still living in poverty in 2014 (Indonesia 2015). At the same
time, deforestation, forest fires, and degradation of peat land have placed the country
as the world’s fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the largest contributor of
forest-based emission (Wijaya et al. 2017). Apart from the deteriorating environment,
climate change will increase economic vulnerability of the smallholder producers
due to significant projected decrease in yields. More intense rainfall is predicted,
which can result in about 2–3% more rainfall each year, in addition to decreased soil
fertility by 2–8%, leading to the declining share of rice yields by 4% per year and
maize by 50% per year (Sari et al. 2007).
It is therefore critical for Indonesia to achieve its national climate pledges in
keeping the earth temperature rise well below the 2 °C threshold called for in the
Paris Agreement. As outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
document to the Paris Accord, Indonesia has set ambitious goals related to production and consumption of food, through integrated plans to build resilient food system
through the enhanced actions on sustainable agriculture and plantation (Indonesia
2015). One imperative measure is to introduce short-term climate adaptation and
long-term mitigation strategies to the actors involved in the food systems, who are
primarily agricultural producers. However, governments often fail to provide incentives to increase the demand for adaptation and to implement efficient strategies
for the agricultural producers who are mostly the smallholders. Past studies have
also shown that barriers to adaptation and mitigation practices are high, primarily
due to technical, information, and cultural constraints. For instance, “Climate Field
School” in Indramayu region in 2003 was carried out to promote adaptive application of climate forecasts to crop selection decisions, but after 5 years, adoption
is virtually non-existent (Siregar and Crane 2011). This is due to perceived risks
associated with such practices and lack of understanding of the benefits. In Papua,