Climate Change Forces Farmers to Find Alternative Livelihoods

Jakarta, Climate change is forcing farmers in certain parts of Indonesia to adapt and look for other livelihoods as symptoms of global warming had disturbed the pattern of their crop planting activity.

"The long dry season that we experienced recently has caused crop failures which is why we have taken the initiative to change the cropping pattern to adjust with rainfall conditions and choose more robust and short-lived varieties plants," said Surono, a farmer in Godean, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Based on the global symptoms of climate change, some Indonesian farmers now seemed to be looking for alternative sources of income to adapt to the surrounding conditions that have changed, in order to survive from crops failure.

Surono is also looking for alternative income sources other than rice crops such as breeding ducks which considered not affected by climate change.

"If a farmer has a 1,000 square meters wetland area, some 100 meter square of the area can be used for breeding livestocks as an alternative business," he said.

In addressing to the matter, the National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) spokesperson Dr. Amanda Katili Niode said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in this case is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 26 percent with its own strength and 40 percent if with the help of other countries" she said here Monday.

The Indonesian central government is fully committed to addressing climate change which is shown by the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono statement to cut 26 percent carbon emission, an official said.

Amanda said that climate change was marked by a change in rainfall and global warming which due to the stacked gases like methane and CO2 within the earth`s atmosphere.

"Indonesia as a developing country has contributed to reduce the rapidly increasing carbon emissions, therefore a continuous mitigation and adaptation efforts must be done, such as reforestation and energy efficiency by using renewable energy such as wind, water and sun," she said.

Developing countries are given some financial assistance of 30 million US dollars to reduce emissions, while developed countries are expected to be a role model in efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

"Such environmental issues became a mutual responsibility where everybody is involved in it, ranging from policy makers to the public," she said.