EurAsian Journal of BioSciences Eurasia J Biosci 14, 5889-5897 (2020) Dryland farming management in food-insecure areas in East Manggarai Regency Erlyna Wida Riptanti 1*, Masyhuri 2, Irham 2, Any Suryantini 2 1 Department of Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sebelas Maret, INDONESIA 2 Department of Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, INDONESIA *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract Dryland is potential to increase migration, social structure damage, low productivity, limited economic growth, and marginalization without any support and assistance and East Manggarai Regency is one of the areas with those possibilities. The purpose of this article is to scrutinize the management of dryland farming in supporting the necessities of life in food-insecure areas. This research belongs to descriptive analytical study and applies survey technique. The samples were taken using purposive sampling technique. A total of 80 respondents took part in this research; they were from four villages in two selected food-insecure sub-districts, namely Borong and Kota Komba. Effective dryland farming management is highly relevant to the supply of food and raw materials. The management in the studied areas mostly applies minimum inputs and leads to commercialization. Land tenure is used for the production of staple food and plantation crops. Staple food crop yields are used to ensure the availability of staple food, while plantation yields are used to meet other necessities. Limited transportation infrastructure contributes to less optimum potential for the development of staple food and plantation crops. Keywords: minimum input, commercialization, land tenure, dry land farming management Riptanti EW, Masyhuri, Suryantini A (2020) Dryland farming management in food-insecure areas in East Manggarai Regency. Eurasia J Biosci 14: 5889-5897. © 2020 Riptanti et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. INTRODUCTION poor farmers, small farm systems, the landless, resource endowments, the socioeconomic environment Agriculture and food security in developing areas are and externalities (Devendra and Chantalakhana 2002). vital for interference under climate change. Agricultural East Manggarai is a regency with most of the areas production in Ethiopia is highly at risk of climate change that are hilly and mountainous. The agricultural sector with major consequences for food security (Zemedu and plays a dominant role in the economic structure of the Mesfin 2014). Frequency and intensity of drought have regency. Taking into account the 2017 Gross Regional troubled sustainable agriculture and worsened food Domestic Product (GRDP) that was calculated based on insecurity of Ethiopians (Benti and Chimdi 2019). This the base price of 2010, agriculture contributes the phenomenon is similar to the condition in East highest GRDP for the regency, amounting to 45.39%. Manggarai Regency. Opposing the issue of insecurity is On the other hand, agricultural yield productivity in this particularly essential for programs attempting to deal area is lower than the national productivity (BPS 2018). with an environmental issue (Haro and Doyo 2005). These conditions are paradoxical, thinking through the Agricultural systems around the world are coping with fact that East Manggarai is one of the eleven food- the pressure to enhance their sustainability (Bell et al. insecure areas in East Nusa Tenggara Province. All sub- 2008). districts in East Manggarai are food-insecure at 3 priority Climate change and variability present new scale (Dewan Ketahanan Pangan NTT dan World Food challenges for agriculture, particularly for smallholder Programme 2015; Riptanti et al. 2018). Purwantini et al farmers who maintain to be the bases of food production (2007) informs that the category of high food insecurity in developing countries. Recent global food crises have of an area is characterized by relatively limited carrying uncovered the structural susceptibility of globalized agri- capacity of agriculture on food productivity, poor human food systems, emphasizing climate change as merely resources, inadequate facilities and infrastructures, one of a complex set of environmental, demographic, social and economic drivers contributing to instability and food insecurity (Brooks and Loevinsohn 2011). Received: October 2019 Poverty is a problem for rural areas and continues to be Accepted: March 2020 a tenacious multidimensional dilemma. It is linked to Printed: November 2020 5889 EurAsian Journal of BioSciences 14: 5889-5897 (2020) Riptanti et al. limited agricultural land and livestock ownership, farming activities. With these strategies, optimization of average income that is below poverty line, and dominant dryland utilization needs to obtain certain plant share of food expenditure. commodities with a high level of market assurance and Farmer households with their indigenous knowledge without leaving the characteristics of agribusiness interact and adapt to the limitation and vulnerability of system and scheme (Zainal 2005). Integrated natural resources (Maina et al. 2012). Households in agriculture is a system of land utilization by managing food-insecure areas are always challenged with plants and livestock economically in the same areas by agricultural production risks (Harvey et al. 2014). practicing various techniques to create an environment Climate change may shrink farm profitability in the that is suitable for the growth of plants and animals observed area due to the decline in the area of crops on (Allen et al. 2007). farms (John et al. 2005). Moreover, households are under economic pressures to fulfill their daily needs, MATERIAL AND METHODS agricultural commodity price fluctuation, increase in Basic method agricultural input price, and lessened workforce The analytical descriptive method is the basic (Monjardino et al. 2010). These impact on dryland method for this research. The data used in this study farming management by farmers. This article aims at were obtained using the cross-sectional technique. The scrutinizing dryland farming management in food- descriptive study also explains the extent to which insecure areas in East Manggarai, Eats Nusa Tenggara. agreement on the results that are presented (Irianto and Dryland farming in this regency is carried out by sub- Mardikanto 2011). system farmers, but farming practices have been directed to commercialism. Problems or limitations in Sample of research location dryland management are varied in each area, either in The determination of research location was based on technical, technological, institutional, infrastructural or the condition that East Manggarai was one of the socio-economic aspects (Ramakrishna and Rao 2008). regencies in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, with the Further, the farmers in East Manggarai encounter most food-insecure areas, based on the data provided problems in dryland farming management due to by Dewan Ketahanan Pangan NTT dan World Food poverty, high dependency on dryland farming Programme (2015). Astronomically, This regency lies management and livestock breeding, decreased land between 08° 14ʼ - 09° 00ʼ South Latitude and 120° 20ʼ - fertility, and insufficient infrastructures, limited access to 120° 55ʼ East Longitude (BPS 2018). Two sub-districts, markets, limited input and technology utilization. Borong and Kota Komba, with food insecurity and Farming management applies management practices in relatively easier transportation access, were taken as responding to physical, biological and socio-economic samples. One food-insecure village and one food- environments in limited conditions to achieve farmers' secure village were taken from each sub-district. targets and expectations. Therefore, this study is focus Borong Sub-district: Poco Rii and Kota to be carried out to investigate the characteristics of NdoraVillages farming, the current conditions and the strategies to Kota Komba Sub-district: Rana Bata and Gunung improve dryland farming management. Baru Villages The success of the dryland farming system is highly Samples of respondents determined by integrated land, water, plant, livestock, The research population was farmers who practiced and nutrient management. To manage multiple risks of dryland farming in food-insecure areas. Samples were dryland farming systems, diversification, flexibility, and taken using a purposive sampling technique, by adaptability system of farming are required. considering the following criteria: 1) farmers have Inappropriate enlargement of the planting area in communication ability and 2) farmers practice dryland dryland by utilizing technology is the potential to failure farming. Samples of farmers were taken using snowball (Kasryno and Soeparno 2012). The result of the sampling with a total of 80 respondents, consisting of 40 research by Mulyani et al (2014) on the acceleration of farmers in food-insecure villages and 40 farmers in food- dryland farming development in Nusa Tenggara show secure villages. that agricultural development the technology of superior Problem limitation varieties, nutrient management, communal cages, and Dryland farming is an advantageous crop production agricultural waste management requires assistance and business without irrigation facilities when practiced on guidance. the land that receives rainfall between 150 - 750 According to Zainal (2005), by considering the socio- mm/year with uneven distribution