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Land Management Without Burning in Penampi
A Penampi farmer shares his transition to land management without burning and efforts to introduce the practice to others.
Rudiyanto, aged 40, is a farmer in Penampi Village, Bengkalis District. In 2016, he initially cleared land for pineapple by burning, at a time when outreach on the effects of peatland fires was limited. After attending a Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) field school in Siak Regency in 2019, he began learning more about farming without burning.
He first grew bitter melon around his home on deep peat, then watermelon and other crops. Initially working independently, he was invited to share his experience with other villages. A barrier for others interested in adopting the approach was the capital needed to begin planting.
Rudiyanto providing training in making F1 Mbio
Yayasan Gambut wanted to help share his enthusiasm with others committed to farming without burning and to promote sustainably grown peatland produce. Rudiyanto subsequently formed a group of 4 people with support from the foundation.
Using F1 Mbio
Before planting, Rudiyanto and his colleagues apply a preparation they call F1 Mbio. Made from materials readily available on Bengkalis Island, it is intended to accelerate organic matter decomposition and reduce soil acidity.
“Prepare 5 litres of water, 1 kg of rice bran, 1 kg of sugar, 1 pineapple, 1/2 kg of shrimp and around 2 ons (Indonesian weight units) of sago flour. Cook the ingredients, let them cool, then add about 1 spoonful of free-range chicken manure collected before sunrise. Ferment for 1 day and 1 night,” Rudiyanto explained to Yayasan Gambut by telephone on Tuesday, 24/11/2020.
Boiling ingredients for F1 Mbio. Photo: Rudiyanto
For 1 hectare, he mixes 5 litres of F1 Embrio with 200 litres of water and applies it to the peatland 1 week before planting. He said it can also be mixed with approximately 50 kg of animal manure.
Managing Fire Danger Information
Alongside farming, Rudiyanto maintains a forest and land fire danger information board to raise community awareness of risk. He manually changes its colour indicators using information from BMKG’s Forest and Land Fire Warning System (SPARTAN).
Forest and Land Fire Warning System (SPARTAN). Source: BMKG
Harvesting Chilli on Peatland Without Burning
Bird’s-eye chilli grown on Rudiyanto’s peatland plot
At the time of reporting, Rudiyanto had harvested 40 kg of bird’s-eye chilli from 300 plants, selling it for Rp 30,000 per kg. Produce was sold to nearby residents and supplied to Pasar Memanah in Bengkalis town.