Dream of NTT Independent Seeds from Noelbaki Village

On Wednesday (8/5/2024), the Acting Head of the Agriculture and Food Security Agency of NTT, Joaz Umbu Wanda, came to the village of Noelbaki to inspect the condition of rice plants there. "We will harvest on Monday (13/5/2024)," he said.

According to Joaz, the age of the rice plants has already exceeded 100 days, making it ready for harvest. This is because rice ideally should be harvested when it is 110-115 days old. In preparation for the harvest, the inflow of water into the rice fields has been stopped. Various equipment, including a place for drying rice, has been prepared. Labor for the harvest has also been contacted.

Joaz explained that each hectare of rice fields in that area is estimated to produce 3.5 tons of harvested dry grain (GKP). The productivity of the seed producing rice fields is indeed lower compared to the rice fields in NTT in general, which can produce 5-6 tons of GKP per hectare. In some other provinces, the harvest yield can reach 7 tons of GKP per hectare.

After the harvest is complete, Joaz added, the rice from the seed-producing fields will be dried. After that, a scientific certification process will be carried out in the laboratory to obtain high-quality seeds.

The main indicator of high-quality seeds is a maximum moisture content of 12 percent and a germination rate of up to 80 percent. The certification process takes up to two months before the seeds are distributed to farmers.

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The Coordinator of the Rice Seed Parent Nursery Center, Noelbaki Marsel Manek, has stated that the certification process is carried out selectively in order to obtain quality seeds. However, the process is only the tip of a long process that begins with land preparation.

According to Manek, seed-producing rice fields must be isolated based on distance and time. If a different type of rice is being planted nearby, the planting time must be at least 30 days apart. The closest distance to other fields must be 3 meters to prevent mixing during the pollination process.

Manek stated that the isolation process aims to maintain the purity of the rice varieties planted. Based on his experience at the Noelbaki Rice Seed Parent Center, 90 percent of the harvested rice grains have successfully passed as seeds.

"Since this seed center was established in 1997, the seed production process has been running smoothly," said Manek.

He added that the ready seeds will be distributed to farmers for planting in rice fields. In the Noelbaki area, there are hundreds of hectares of rice fields that mostly use seeds from the seed center. There are two rice planting seasons a year in that area with irrigation from the Tilong Dam and rainfall.

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Each rice seed, said Manek, can produce one clump containing at least 15 stems. One stem can produce 2 males. Each male has 30 grains of rice. This means that in one clump there are around 900 grains of rice.

"This shows how a single seed can multiply. The existence of seed banks is one of the keys to the progress of the agricultural sector," said Manek, who has been dealing with seeds for over 30 years.

Seed independence

The Noelbaki Rice Parent Seed Center is one of several seed centers in East Nusa Tenggara. Other rice seed centers are located in Lembor, West Manggarai Regency; Magepanda, Sikka Regency; Mbai, Nagekeo Regency; Ogy, Ngada Regency; Lewa, East Sumba Regency, and Waimanu, Central Sumba Regency.

In addition, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) also has a corn and horticulture seed center in several areas. The corn seed center is located in Tarus, Kupang Regency; Buisan, Rote Ndao Regency; and Lembor.

Meanwhile, the horticultural plant seed center is located in Nonbes, Kupang Regency; Oelbubu, South Central Timor Regency; Detubapa, Ende Regency; Uya and Lambanapu in East Sumba Regency; as well as the Mbai and Lembor regions.

The Head of Technical Implementation Unit for Food Crop and Horticulture Plant Breeding in NTT, Semuel Keffi, stated that the availability of seeds in NTT is still far below the demand. Out of the total demand of around 300,000 tons of seeds per year, the supply available is only around 50,000 tons.

Therefore, NTT still has to import seeds from other regions. Currently, the price of seeds ranges from Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000 per kilogram.

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Samuel added that seed centers in East Nusa Tenggara still lack drying machines. Therefore, seed drying can only be done by relying on sunlight which is sometimes not optimal during rainy season.

However, procuring a drying machine requires a significant budget, up to Rp 1 billion. "We really hope for assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture," said Semuel.

This shows how one seed multiplies. The existence of a seed center is one of the keys to progress in the agricultural sector.

Acting Head of the NTT Agriculture and Food Resilience Office Joaz Umbu Wanda hopes that someday NTT can be self-sufficient in meeting its seed needs. To achieve this goal, there needs to be an emphasis on seed breeding in every agricultural center, especially those based on islands. Village governments are encouraged to use village funds to build these seed breeding centers.

In addition, the private sector is also encouraged to establish seed nurseries while still paying attention to quality. This is because there have been certain parties in the past who have been proven to commit fraud by counterfeiting seeds.

Looking at the current condition, it takes hard work to bring NTT towards self-sufficiency. However, it is not wrong to have a dream towards that direction. The dream can start from the village of Noelbaki.