Mixed intercropping with long-term and short-term crops in Gubuk Alang, Kopang, Lombok, Indonesia

Abstract

For farmers who are new, or who recently acquired agricultural land, choosing long-term crops can be problematic, as these farmers must cultivate their long-term crops without revenue for several years. Therefore, they must intercrop them with short-term crops. In this study, researchers assisted a farmer in Gubuk Alang, Kopang, Lombok, Indonesia intending to cultivate long-term crops. The Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia Pekarangan Pangan Lestari (Sustainable Backyard Production) short-term crop programme was investigated to determine if it could be combined with the long-term crops. Intercropping both long-term and short-term crops would effectively maximise the utilisation of the area, and the revenue generated from the short-term crop would guarantee the farmers’ revenue while waiting on the long-term crop. The agricultural procedure developed on the studied farm can be duplicated to foster self-sufficiency, self-regulation, and sustainability in food farming by other farmers in the region and the government could implement measures to render the initiative to be more adaptable following farmers' inclinations and aspirations.