Project Background
Sumba is an island in eastern
Indonesia. This amazing tourist destination lies far off the beaten track, has
a rich and unique culture, world-class surf breaks, and one of the best-rated
hotels in the world.
But
Sumba’s people face extremely high rates of poverty and stunting. Stunting is
one of the most extreme indicators of malnutrition, resulting from long-term
nutritional deprivation. Poverty and stunting in Sumba are driven and
exacerbated by low agricultural productivity that is further impacted by an
eight-month dry season.
The poverty rate for Laboya Barat
sub-district is 63%. A further 20% of the population are ‘near-poor’ and
extremely vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
This poverty and vulnerability causes a
negative cycle in which poor farmers are less able, and less willing, to invest
much of their limited funds into agriculture activities, as they consider it
too risky.
Current
low productivity means there are fewer food crops available for consumption,
which contributes to poor diet, poor health and malnutrition. Although the
communities rely heavily on agriculture, their farming is highly dependent on
rainfall. Unfortunately, the dry season lasts at least 8 months every year, and
with climate change, rainfall patterns have become very unpredictable.
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Project
Overview
SurfAid is working to help local
farmers improve agricultural productivity by implementing demonstration farms,
to grow relevant crops, and model good agricultural practice. Demonstration
farms allow farmers to continuously learn in an informal setting.
‘Accompaniment’ – where SurfAid staff live and work alongside the community –
will be used to support short formal sessions and ensure efficient use of
participants’ time.
SurfAid
is helping local farmers to overcome the long dry season and unpredictable
rainfall due to climate change, by implementing a small-scale irrigation system
in a new demonstration farm. This will allow farmers to learn new irrigation
techniques and implement it in their own gardens and fields, to have year-round
access to water.
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What’s Covered in Project Cost
Activities
|
Costs
|
? Set up a new
demonstration farm with small-scale irrigation system in a new area, reaching
more people
? Provide
training on good agriculture practice
? Develop
and produce materials in local language
? Provide
coaching and support in farmer’s own fields and gardens.
|
90%
|
Accountability and quality assurance
|
10%
|
Partners
& Community Involvement
SurfAid
in Indonesia will work together with the communities and local government of
Laboya Barat sub-district. The communities and government will allocate land
for the demonstration farm, community members will be engaged in the set-up and
establishment of the demonstration farm and the irrigation system. Community
members and relevant government personnel will participate in training on
agricultural practices to improve production and maintain the irrigation
system, so that positive changes can be maintained and sustained by local
actors beyond this project. The communities will be engaged in the development
of tailored training materials and contribute locally-available resources, volunteering
their time and labour to the project, and the government will be engaged to
provide follow-up through extension workers.
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How does the project fits into a larger strategy
This project contributes directly to
SurfAid’s overarching six-year program called NUSATANI (farming islands),
tackling poverty, stunting and malnutrition at household level through
nutrition sensitive agriculture. The program is currently in its third year.
Good
nutrition includes getting the right quantity of good quality, diverse foods
all year. These foods must be handled and stored safely to avoid causing
illness.
SurfAid
implements activities in the areas of food production, agricultural income,
improved access to health services and women's empowerment, to address the key
factors that influence nutrition status.