United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Before the initiative began, there were excessive and continuous use of chemical fertilizers as a result of green revolution. Therefore, it resulted in decreasing quality of paddy fields because the chemical residues had made the land hard and the ecosystem waned and consequently reducing the level of land fertility. The impacts were the decrease in productivity of rice, farmers were reluctant and unmotivated to cultivate their land, and the management of food resilience was threatened. The initiative solution therefore, an innovation called “Organic Agricultural Cultivation Technique.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Key benefits have been felt since the initiative was first launched 1989 by two farmers on a two-hectare plot of land with slightly better results than normally used chemical fertilizer. However, at the end of 2001, the Sragen regent launched an “Organic Rice Development” on a 360 hectares of paddy field. Up to 2008 it has grown into 3.500 hectares, and around 5.000 hectares of semi organic pattern, and compost fertilizing culture by Sragen farmers at around 90.000 hectares. New businesses in agricultural sectors have multiplied in line with the growth of organic fertilizer business (196 units), organic pesticide business (20 units), organic rice entrepreneurs, organic restaurants, vegetable farmers, etc. Through organic agricultural cultivation, land productivity have increased from 3-4 tons/hectare to 8-9 tons/hectare, even in some parts of the regency reached 12,6 tons/hectare. The establishment of the Organic Farmer Association with rice produced under the Sucofindo (the country’s noted Consultant on ISO), The Bogor State Agriculture Institute and the Netherlands Government Certificates. Sragen regency has even tried to serve organic rice export. The hundreds of comparative studies from various institutions and schools’ Field Practices throughout the country conducted in Sragen regency, has prompted the Ministry of Agriculture to make the Go Organic 2010 Vision.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The above agriculture initiative derived from Mr. Untung Wiyono, the Sragen regent. He then instructed the regency’s former Agriculture and Food Resielince Office heads Mr. Soewarto, Ms. Endang Handayani, respectively and presently Mr. Haryoto implemented it. Stakeholders comprise among others elements of farmers/groups of farmers, agriculture councelors as their companion, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Universities, private sectors (organic pesticide and fertilizer producers, organic rice traders) who together support and strive for the success of the organic agriculture cultivation thorugh their respective roles. To make the initiative a success, at its initial marketing of the organic rice, the regent instructed all regency’s civil servants to buy the rice, and later on the rice was bought by organic rice traders and sold it through traditional as well as super-markets. The role of universities meanwhile is to research on the excellent seed for the organic rice.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
In developing the organic rice cultivation, there were seven institutional strategies adopted namely : improving regency’s institution by establishing Agriculture Councelor Executing Agency by employing counsellors all over the villages, nurturing agricultural land, and giving out to groups of farmers; revitalizing agricultural infrastrutures in the form of irrigation networks, dams, and embankments under the principle “no drop of water flows to the sea”; managing the level of land fertility through the organic rice cultivation by making organic rice depots at every village under the organic rice cultivation technology application system; training officials and farmers, and even sending them to Thailand for apprenticeship; setting up cooperation between groups of organic farmers and organic rice traders as well as organic rice associations by providing incentives for agriculture counsellors; training farmers to be entrepreneurs. In order to improve farmers knowledge, the regency provides as many as 27 kinds of trainings, and handle post harvest system using agricutural machineries, and marketing system by establishing partnership, and assist farmers’ capital need through the Micro Finance Service Agency. The initiative was implemented in 2001.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The key development and implementation steps were undertaken through socialization of organic agriculture vision in various ways such as: shadow play by implementing it synergically along with the love of environmental campaign. The shadow puppet play is a popular entertainment shown in the evening using leather puppets with stories related to all kinds of human deeds. In this very moment, the government uses the media for socializing new policies, inventions, creations, etc. Through such stories then, the people turn them into practice. For instance, all the components of the society turn rubbish into benefit, regulate the community to love local food, guests are served with available local eateries, etc. The chronology of the implementation of the initative, which was started in 2001, firstly, the regent of Sragen –formerly the secretary of the regency government- was fully aware of the potential his regency has. The Solo river flows through his regency but was not fully utilized for irrigation causing his regency lacked behind other regencies in rice production. He therefore unveiled his ideas before his staff to inrease rice production by using environmentally friendly model e.g. organic rice cultivation. He was aware too, that using organic fertilizer would empower the people of Sragen, meaning providing job opportunities for them through the production of organic fertilizer whose raw material in the form of cattle feses and urine are readiliy available in the regency. The regent’s initiative was warmly welcome by his staff, and a team was then formed to implement it. The success stories as elaborated in points above need to be further disseminated to other regencies, even across the central Java province and beyond, so that the country’s rice production could be mutiplied for securing the national stock. In the regency, two organic Granule fertilizer factories to support the success of organic cultivation have been established. At national level, it is also proposed that the central government should build organic fertilizers through state-owned enterprises such as PT Gresik Petrochemical, and PT Pusri to ensure the sufficiency of fertilizer.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main obstacles encountered mainly because organic agriculture can not be made instantly and takes time to produce real harvest. Every time cultivation is made by reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer up to not entirely using it. Not all agricultural land is changeable into an organic agriculture because the available water is contaminated by chemical residues/ pollutants. Organic products meanwhile have not been widely known as they are relatively expensive and organic cultivation is prone to pests and diseases. To overcome the obstacles, a planting system is used to obtain an organic agriculture by planting at least seven new plantings. Every time of cultivation, the amount of chemical fertilizer is reduced and replaced it with organic fertilizer, land location whose irrigation comes from local water resource, and the use of chemical pesticide is replaced by the organic one.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Resources to develop the organic rice derived from cooperation between the Sragen regency government and the Mandiri Care Bank to manage the daily 10 tons of both market and domestic rubbish to be processed into biogas for electricity and gas stove, and the waste is used for organic fertilizer materials. In order to provide the fertilizer’s need, cattle breeders, who belong to cattle association having communal dens, separate cattles’ feces and urine. The feces are processed for making biogas and their waste is used for organic fertilizer’s raw material, and their urine is processed for making organic pesticide (Urinsa). Two organic Granule fertilizer factories to support the success of organic cultivation have been established at the cost of Rp 2 billion (US$200.000) each. In order to have sufficient water during dry season, the regency government has made use the Solo river (the largest and longest river on Java island) efficiently by treating its water using Slow Sand Filter so that it is safe for organic agriculture.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Economically, organic rice as well as cereal entrepreneurs have grown in number including clean culture that ensures the return of biota environment. Regulations have created inter-regional, inter-farmer groups, farmers counsellors and rice entrepreneurs cooperations. This initiative has been replicated at local level with greater number of growth of organic farmers groups. Sragen regency has become a learning place and comparative studies as far as Langkat regency in North Sumatra. The latter has sent two batches of youth for a six-month apprenticeship with 40 persons each batch. The regencies of Ngawi and Trenggalek in East Java have established cooperation with Sragen regency on organic rice cultivation and its marketing. Agricultural development is a system with a well-planned, measured and synergical process that starts from up-stream (on-farm) to down-stream (off-farm). The key element of success is the awareness process by farmers regarding the importance of returning the agricultural land fertility through the organic agricultural culativation.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The real impact to be seen is the growing numbers of farmers being motivated because such a system has proven to be yielding organic agricultural products with higher selling value, opening better job opportunities in the fields of cattle farming, making organic pesticide and fertilizer. Even this activities can be produced at household scale. By reducing farmers’ business cost and business scale, the Sragen regency has prepared an organic rice export market service. The lessons learned from the experience of Sragen regency is the need for other regencies and cities in Indonesia to also go organic, meaning go green which has become an international icon as a result of global warming. By using organic fertilizer and organic pesticide, the earth will be more fertile and thus more productive for cultivation, more food available, and eventually more healthy human beings.


Institution Name:		Government of Sragen Regency
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Untung Wiyono
Title:		Sragen Regent
Telephone/ Fax:		(0271) 891025
Institution's / Project's Website:		(0271) 891297
E-mail:		bupati@sragenkab.go.id
Address:		Jl. Raya Sukowati No. 255
Postal Code:		57211
City:		Sragen
State/Province:		Central Java
Country:		Indonesia

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information