Rainfall and Crop Modeling to Improve Rice Farmers’ Yields in Indonesia

In Indonesia, agriculture — particularly the food-crops sector — is extremely susceptible to climate variability and change. In order to improve resilience to climate shocks and ensure sustainable crop yields, the John D. Rockefeller 3RD Scholars Program of Winrock International commissioned a multi-disciplinary research team to develop a rainfall model that would provide extension agents and farmers with detailed information on rice planting times and yields. This is a summary of the research team’s major findings, which they also presented at a seminar on water and climate change, co-hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and Winrock International in Bogor in August 2013.