Impossible Odds Yield an Unforeseen Triumph

Abdullah stands proudly in his rice field. Photo: Elpido Soplantila/Mercy Corps

“The rice is growing better! It is growing faster! Oddly enough, I think that it has been fertilized by the tsunami,” says an ecstatic and smiling Abdullah looking at the golden shade dominating the landscape of Keuneu Ue village.

He proudly points at his rice field, covered with the brownish yellow rice plants ready to be harvested. The color and texture provides a beautiful contrast to the breathtaking clear blue sky.

Abdullah, a 55-year-old farmer, expresses his happiness and gratitude on this January 28, a warm and sunny Saturday - the day he and 185 other farmers are celebrating their first rice harvest since the tsunami of 2004. Today, the people of Lampisang, Keuneu Ue and Beuraden villages in Indonesia's Aceh Besar region are sharing their joy and celebrating in what they could not have never imagined before: not only a successful harvest, but a bumper crop.

To celebrate this important milestone, Mercy Corps – supported by the farmers’ association – has organized a ceremony on Keuneu Ue's rice fields. This event marks the kick-off to a series of activities for the farmers and community to celebrate and give thanks for a successful harvest.

A year of hard work

A little over a year ago, the salty tsunami sea water and the debris it carried damaged over 95 hectares of agricultural land in Keuneu Ue and its neighboring villages. Abdulah’s croplands were completely destroyed. As a result of the utter destruction, farmers were reluctant to plant again and were even more pessimistic about future outcomes. Villages across the area had been left with undoubtedly infertile land and without any support or assistance to return the land to its healthy condition.

Then Mercy Corps arrived on the scene.

Starting with clearing and cleaning the fields through its cash-for-work program involving displaced families from the area, the Mercy Corps team conducted extensive salinity tests on the damaged soil and provided local farmers with equipment such as hand-tractors and thresher machines to begin the long process of rehabilitation.

It was certainly not easy to develop the damaged land. Recognizing the vital importance of farm land to the community, Mercy Corps immediately committed to becoming one of the major advocates of farming revitalization in Indonesia's tsunami-battered Aceh Province.

After concluding its cash-for-work project, Mercy Corps began working in Keuneu Ue and its 185 rice farmers in July 2005. The project began with a rice field assessment of over 93 hectares of land. These initial tests were to identify fields that were permanently lost due to sand deposits as opposed to those that might be able to be salvaged.

The tools to succeed

In August, Mercy Corps supported area farmers with a grant to purchase special rice seed varieties, approved by the Department of Agriculture as well as farming tools and other necessary equipments.

The farmers decided upon two approved rice seed varieties called IR 64 and C-Herang, which both grew well in their newly-cleaned land. It took a few months of physical labor and anxiety before the farmers of Keuneu Ue could witness the growth of green rice stalks and finally breathe easier.

“It’s truly amazing to see the villages ready to harvest. We truly hope that this harvest is only the beginning of a better and sustainable future for the farmers,” says Dian Yuliana, Mercy Corps Livelihood Coordinator for Banda Aceh.

The first rice harvest in Banda Aceh since the tsunami symbolizes Abdullah and his fellow farmers' ability to turn improbable odds into an unforeseen triumph.