Study on Climate Change, Indonesian Agriculture

Rice farming in Indonesia is greatly affected by short-term climate variability and could be harmed significantly by long term climate change, warn experts from Stanford University, the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin. The study on the impact of climate on Indonesian rice farming since 1983 was published this week in the online version of the journal PNAS.

The researchers found that rice production since 1983 has been greatly affected by year-to-year climate variability, especially El Niño/Southern Oscillation events. "Most models predict that the rains will come later in Indonesia, that it will rain a little harder once the monsoon begins and then it will really dry up during the summer months," said study co-author David Battisti, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington.

The researchers recommend the use of forecasting models to anticipate and plan for El Niño events and their effects on agriculture. Long-term strategies to cope with the effects of climate change would include investments in water storage, development of drought-tolerant crops and crop diversification for farmers at greatest risk.

More information at
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/may2/indonesia-050207.html
The abstract of the article is available at: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0701825104v1