Samosir Farmers Face Just One Rice Planting
Farmers in Samosir regency, North Sumatra, have not started planting rice because of the prolonged dry season, which has caused rivers to dry up. The farmers, who usually plant rice twice a year, are faced with only a single planting this year.
SAMOSIR, KOMPAS โ Farmers in Samosir regency, North Sumatra, have not started planting rice because of the prolonged dry season, which has caused rivers to dry up. The farmers, who usually plant rice twice a year, are faced with only a single planting this year. The paddy fields in several rice production centers have also dried out, their soil cracking. The rice fields are usually irrigated with water from the Guluan River, one of Samosirโs largest rivers, but the river is also drying up.
"This year\'s dry season is longer. Usually, we start plowing the fields and sowing seeds at the beginning of August. However, we cannot plant yet," said 65-year-old farmer Haposan Simanungkalit of Simbolon Purba village, Palipi district.