The combination of local wisdom and technology is very good. The BMKG will ensure that weather information is provided and the farmers will be able to take requisite precautionary measures.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Farmers' production can be maintained through the application of local wisdom and advanced technology to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Chief Dwikorita Karnawati stated.

"The combination of local wisdom and technology is very good. The BMKG will ensure that weather information is provided and the farmers will be able to take requisite precautionary measures," Karnawati remarked during a webinar on Village's Climate Program to build self-reliance in food production among the people living near forests held at the Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, on Wednesday.

During the pre-industrial period, there was a systemic rise in air temperature and jumped in the past three decades, thereby indicating the characteristics of air temperature change, she remarked.

"That is a data-based fact. The relevant agency has also accurately measured the rising sea levels. That is also a fact," she expounded.

The other fact indicating climate change pertains to extreme occurrences, including extreme drought, she pointed out.

The BMKG chief affirmed that all occurrences are based on facts.

Karnawati pointed out that in the past 15 years, the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels rose 30 parts per million (ppm), causing the temperature and rainfall to increase frequently.

The increasing number of trees felled down had eliminated the green cover that functioned as a CO2 absorbent, she noted.

Karnawati attributed farming practices, including rice cultivation at fields using fertilizers and cow manure that released methane gas, to also being contributory to greenhouse gas emissions.

The BMKG chief suggested that farmers can adapt to the climate change and continue production by combining local wisdom and technology, including information and telecommunication technology as well as information and data from the BMKG, as a precautionary measure against extreme weather.

"All the BMKG data has been made available to the public, including farmers, free of charge. They only need to install the BMKG info applications," she stated.

Karnawati stated that tobacco farmers in Central Java have utilized rain information from the BMKG to save their tobacco plantations.
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Translator: Virna P Setyorini/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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