The human ecology of rice farming in an Indonesian coastal wetland

This research investigates the knowledge and practice of coastal wetland rice cultivation by indigenous farmers in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rice farming and its agricultural context are examined in four communities and a total of one hundred and twenty farming households along the Lower Mentaya River. Present-day rice agriculture has evolved through the amalgamation and modification of practices of various ethnic groups. Rice is a subsistence crop and the first in a successional farming pattern that includes intercropping and ends in the exclusive cultivation of the mounded tree crops, primarily coconut.; The study addresses the complexity of farmers' ethnoecological knowledge, decision-making and practice, and how it relates to their environmental and socioeconomic constraints and concerns. Village agricultural practices are contrasted and compared using household surveys, open-ended group and individual informant interviews, and environmental field measurements. The resulting data is assessed in relation to ethnoecological, environmental and socioeconomic factors.; The findings demonstrate the variability and flexibility built into households' coastal swamp rice technology as a response to fluctuating or uncertain conditions. The analyses show that rice farming practices of households are related to the field microgeography, available labor, yield, and production of coconut as a cash crop--among other factors. Rice cultivation is modified incrementally to fit diverse and changing farmer objectives and field environments. Households employ multiple rice types and varieties, seeding and planting techniques, and pest management measures.; In contrast to government-resettled transmigrant populations, indigenous households experience relatively few constraints in adjusting to the coastal wetlands. However, as inequity in land tenure increases and the market price of coconut falls, local farmers will have to modify their farming patterns. Given past situations and responses, this is within their capacity.; Interactive participation of indigenous farmers in agricultural development planning is recommended to increase the environmental and social appropriateness of projects.