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Sustainable Upland Agriculture and Indigenous Farmers Empowerment toward Food Security and Lake Toba Conservation in Indonesia (SAFE Lake Toba)

22-0806-12

[download brochure (Bahasa)]

Project Profile           

Located in Lake Toba area of North Sumatra, this three-year project will empower 300 indigenous farming families in the districts of Toba, Samosir and Dairi to improve their livelihoods. The project aims to improve sustainability by integrating upland farming with livestock raising and conservation of the Lake Toba watershed. Participants will receive pigs (200 families), goats (100 families), fingerlings (150 families), beehives (15 families) and horticulture supplies. An additional 600 families will benefit from pass-ons. The project will also provide both non-technical and technical trainings. The non- technical trainings will include Heifer’s Cornerstones and holistic community development model; marketing and entrepreneurship, gender; and social analysis. The technical trainings will include livestock management, aquaculture, apiculture, organic farming, and water harvesting and natural resources management. Heifer International Indonesia will collaborate with three local NGO as project partners: Vita Dulcedo Foundation; BMPSU and CTL Foundation.

Local Conditions

According to World Bank (2006) 49 % of population has income from USD 1 to 2 per day. While 16.7 % of population living below poverty line (1.5 USD per day).  The vast majority of these poor communities reside in rural areas.  Poverty is still pervasive in North Sumatra and other provinces of Indonesia. It is estimated that out of the 13 million that live in North Sumatra, 20% are living below poverty line. The official measurement of poverty in Indonesia is based on a basic needs approach from a consumption module, equal to Rp 180,000 (about 20 USD) per month. This of course will be rocketed if the measure uses 2 USD per day.

Rural poor tend to have low education to cope with economic crisis and other problems with subsistence farming.  Many farmers lack access to basic education, health services, infrastructure (safe water, adequate sanitation, transport and road, electricity). The major income sources of poor rural families are farm labor and farming. Farming activities are limited to upland farming with low or absence irrigation system and therefore predominantly rain fed if they cultivate rice.

Lake Toba is the widest lake in South East Asia. It has 110,260 Ha with water catchments area of 369,834 Ha. Surrounding the lake, indigenous people native of Batak reside in 7 districts. These 7 districts are significant contributors as watershed areas for rivers and the lake. With average altitude of 800-1400 m from sea level, majority of farming in these areas are characterized by upland farming with mountainous topography.

As many other upland farming, the most common problem encountered in these areas are erosion and water shortage. This worsened by huge deforestation rate. According to data shown by Government of Indonesia, average annual deforestation rate in Indonesia reached 2.8 million hectares from 1998 to 2002.  In 7 district surrounding Lake Toba which function as watershed for the Lake, deforestation also took place. Trees were cut down either by plywood business, pulp and paper industry or by local people. As a result, many rural inhabitants near the forest lost their livelihood sources. Not only did they lose livelihood sources but deforestation also led to a decrease in water resources and intense seasonal flooding. Also, many springs and small rivers were disturbed.

Poor farming management practices were in place whereby cultivation implemented without adequate soil and water conservation practices. For instance, intensive use of chemical inputs will cause residue and pollution. Farmers are also vulnerable to crop diseases, such as recently there was harvest failure for onion cultivation due to crop diseases.

Other condition that hinders farming practices is the fact that farmers have lack of land for cultivation. In Indonesia, the number of landlessness farmer tends to increase. Farmers, who only own less than 0.5 ha land, increase from 20.8 million (48.5 %) in 1983 to 25.4 million (56.5%) in 2003. Similar conditions take place in farming practices surrounding Lake Toba areas. Since farming practices depend on subsistence economy and farming land less than 0.50 hectares, productivity is not high. This contributes to average income the farmers gain is averagely below USD 50 per month. This situation trapped poor farmers in vicious poverty cycle.

Opportunities for Assistance

Diversification will empower poor farmers. This project will integrate livestock (goats and pigs, fish and honey bee) to diversify livelihood of project participants. Horticulture will grow in either the field and/or the kitchen garden. Where water resources are available, farmers will also raise fish for more livelihood sources. The project will also give opportunity to explore off farm livelihood such as post harvest processing and handcrafting.

Upland areas play a very important role as watershed in the conservation of water resources and maintain of a stable ecosystem. Therefore, sustainable farming applied in this project will improve nature conservation such as tree planting through agro forestry. Farmers will grow fruit trees that have economic and ecology functions. The exist indigenous practices that conserve nature will also be revitalized.

To ensure productivity of livestock, farmers will actively participate in field-based trainings on effective and appropriate forage and animal health management. The families will receive local timber seeds, mangrove and horticulture seeds like vegetables and corn to strengthen the organic farming and conservation practice.

Farmers will actively participate in trainings on agro forestry, aquaculture, apiculture, horticulture gardening, integrated pest management and compost making processes according to their need. To encourage support and achievement in the program, project participants will be trained in Heifer’s Cornerstones, holistic community development, marketing analysis, post harvest processing, community organizing, and human nutrition. These activities will support the sustainable livelihood of families by increasing their regular income and enhancing their children’s access to educational services and nutritional needs. Coordination, consultation, and meetings between the community and local governments will also take place.

All farmers will be empowered through an effective Self-Help Group (SHG). All SHGs will have regular meetings, trainings and saving and credit schemes. Gender awareness trainings and gender analysis training will also be organized.

Membership Criteria

NGO partners in consultation with Heifer International Indonesia will select the project participants. The main criteria will include:

- Vulnerable women who suffer from poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition and have low education, skills, and limited productive assets;

-  Vulnerable women headed households and orphan children will be prioritized under this project.

-   Willingness to raise livestock and commitment to passing on the gift

- Commitment to their value and willing to adopt Heifer’s cornerstones

-  Commitment to SHG membership

Passing on The Gift Process and Methodology

There will be 600 pass on families within three years of the first placement of animals. 300 Original participants will pass on resources at same quality and quantity they received. Every original family will pass on 3 goats/ pigs within 3 years.  In addition, for fish and horticulture they will pass on within 1 year (in kind).

Similarly, the participants will pass on knowledge, skills and organizational practices/ capacity to the pass on families.

Training and Education Plan

The project participants will receive the following trainings and formal discussions:

•  VBHCD package I (VBHCD introduction, Personal Leadership; Cornerstones, VBPM, PSRP) (5 days).

• VBCHD package II (SHG strengthening) (4 days)

• Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) (4 days).

• Improved animal management (4 days).

• Gender equity awareness (3 days).

• Sustainable agriculture (1 day).

• Farmer field school

• Forest conservation awareness (2 days) and agro ecology (2 days)

• Organic kitchen garden and herbal medicine (2 days).

• Human nutrition (1 day).

• Post harvest processing and entrepreneurship (including marketing aspects) training (2 days).

•  Agriculture and nursery seedling (2 days), aquaculture (1 day)

• CAHV (6 days).

•  Water Monitoring (2 days)

• HIV/AIDS awareness (1 day)

• PSRP ( 3 days)

• Social analysis ( 1 day)

• Participatory Poverty Assessment ( 3)

• Food security discussions.

In addition, some of the above trainings are delivered to project participants on a continual and repetitive basis with budget coming from an existing Partner Capacity-Building Project.

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