Farmers tend to burn land

Amuntai, S Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalsel) - Farmers in the North Hulu Sungai (HSU) have a tendency to burn land because the majority of agricultural land is covered with wild plants called susupan gunung.


The Coordinator of the Danau Panggang Subdistrict Counselor Ahmad Husaini in Amuntai on Tuesday said the burning of the land covered by susupan gunung or Putri Malu Raksasa (Minosa Pigra L) was not a problem for the surrounding residents.
 
"As long as the landowners oversee the burning of the land, I think the people around them will not question it," he said.

Husaini said farmers were forced to burn land because it was very difficult to clear the agricultural land from the susupan gunung.

The government, prohibits farmers from burning land, said Husaini, but on the other hand, the government does not have a solution to eradicate environmentally-friendly susupan gunung.
 
Meanwhile, he continued, a lot of lands could not be used for agriculture because of the increasing number of the susupan gunung plants.

"If only there is a machine technology that can help farmers clean up to destroy susupan gunung intakes, and it can be used as fertilizer or others, of course the burning of the land itself can be prevented," he said.
 
Husaini admitted that the majority of potential agricultural land in the Alabio Polder Area which stretched from Sungai Pandan to Babirik Sub-district was almost entirely covered with this vines with strong roots.

Meanwhile the Acting Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Sugeng Riyadi said many cases of land burning occurred in the South Amuntai and Haur Gading Subdistrict.
 
Land burning, said Sugeng, is usually done by farmers to clear land, but the burning of agricultural land has caused haze.
 
"We conduct socialization in villages that we see as potential burning of land and forests," he explained.