Severe Dry Spell Spurs Indonesian Rice Farmers to Switch to Corn
- Weather agency has warned of most severe dry season since 2019
- Government allows Bulog to import rice to keep prices in check
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Some Indonesian rice farmers are planting corn and other crops that require less water as the country braces for its most severe dry season since 2019, partly due to the return of the El Niño weather pattern.
Farmers in Subang, West Java, one of the nation’s top rice-producing regions, have shifted from planting the grain to growing things like cabbage, chili and watermelon instead, in anticipation of drought, said Yadi Sofyan Noor, chairman of Andalan Fishermen and Farmers Community.