Planting Hope on Coastal Soil: TTU Goes to the Rice Fields to Learn MTOT

Pesisir Selatan, August 12, 2026 — The knowledge exchange between the Government of Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, and the Government of Pesisir Selatan Regency, West Sumatra, entered its second day with hands-on field learning. Held in Nagari Sungai Gayo Lumpo, IV Jurai Subdistrict, the TTU delegation both studied and practiced the application of No-Till Mulching (Mulsa Tanpa Olah Tanah, MTOT), known at the nagari level as Sawah Pokok Murah (SPM), or "Low-Cost Rice Field."

This activity is part of a three-day knowledge exchange running from August 11–13, 2026, bringing together good practices from the two regions with very different geographic characteristics and development challenges.

While the first day of the exchange took the form of dialogue and shared experience between the two local governments, the second day moved the learning process directly onto the farmland. The TTU delegation did not simply observe the MTOT/SPM technique in action — they also took part in hands-on practice and held direct discussions with farmers, so that the knowledge gained could be fully understood and later adapted to conditions back in TTU.

The MTOT/SPM session was led by Asmarmon and Darmini, expert farmers mentored by FIELD-UBI (Farmer Initiatives for Ecological Livelihoods and Dialogue – Udara Bersih Indonesia), who have long been involved in developing the practice in Nagari Sungai Gayo Lumpo.

Learning from Farmers' Experience

The Wali Nagari (village head) of Sungai Gayo Lumpo opened the activity by expressing appreciation for the presence of the TTU delegation, GIZ SDGs SSTC, Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (LP2M), and all parties involved in the knowledge exchange.

He stressed that the field-learning process needed to be conducted openly. The SPM managers gave the TTU delegation ample room to ask questions, explore each stage in depth, and raise any lingering doubts about applying MTOT/SPM.

He noted that the experience gained from Nagari Sungai Gayo Lumpo is expected to serve as learning material that TTU Regency can adapt and develop further.

The exchange also illustrated that agricultural innovation does not always need to be transplanted wholesale from one region to another. Rather, the underlying principles of innovation needed to be understood first, then adjusted to fit local environmental conditions, land characteristics, farmers' capacities, and community needs.

A representative from LP2M also underlined the importance of building farmers' trust throughout the innovation-development process.

"MTOT isn't about moving a method from one place to another — it's about adapting it," they said.

According to the LP2M representative, the success of an agricultural innovation is determined not only by the technology or method being introduced, but also by the ability to build community trust. Farmers find it easier to embrace change when they can see and experience the results of the practice for themselves.

Advancing More Environmentally Friendly Farming

Oktavian, Head of the IV Jurai Subdistrict Agricultural Extension Center (BPP), expressed hope that the knowledge gained by the TTU delegation could be further developed and bring real benefits to communities in the region.

He noted that MTOT/SPM holds significant value in efforts to rebuild a healthier agricultural ecosystem, particularly given the fairly intensive pesticide use that has characterised conventional farming practices.

Adopting methods that are gentler on the soil is expected to help preserve land quality while encouraging farmers to use more natural inputs in their cultivation practices.

Meanwhile, Hamdi, Head of the Pesisir Selatan Regency Agriculture Office, explained that the development of MTOT/SPM is also aimed at addressing land productivity challenges, particularly in farming areas affected by irrigation disruptions or reliance on rain-fed paddies.

Hamdi said the method is expected to help raise the cropping index, allowing available land to be used more optimally — with a target of two to three planting cycles per year on land where this is feasible.

Pesisir Selatan Regency's cropping index currently stands at around 1.8. With roughly 22,000 hectares of paddy fields, the regency produces around 170,000 tons of dry unhulled rice annually and enjoys a rice surplus of about 50,000 tons.

"There is still considerable potential to be unlocked through higher productivity and a higher cropping index," he explained.

Darmini's Experience: Farming with What's Available Nearby

The field learning grew even more engaging when Darmini, one of the inspiring figures of the programme, shared her experience applying MTOT on her own farmland.

Drawing on her experience implementing the method, Darmini described several changes she has observed in her land, including soil she considers healthier and a reduction in certain pest problems that commonly plague conventionally farmed land.

She also demonstrated how to make a botanical pesticide using simple, readily available materials such as fermented rice water, garlic, and bird's eye chili.

For Darmini, adopting more environmentally friendly farming is not simply about cutting production costs. More than that, she sees it as part of an effort to protect the health of the soil and the environment so that it can be passed on to future generations.

"When it comes to farming, what matters most is being willing to do it," she said firmly.

That simple message became one of the key takeaways of the second day's learning: innovation is not always synonymous with expensive technology. In many cases, innovation can grow out of farmers' own experience, the resourceful use of what is available nearby, and the courage to try and prove something works.

Three Sites Prepared for MTOT Adaptation in TTU

The knowledge exchange has begun moving from the learning stage toward implementation planning.

The Pesisir Selatan Regency government reaffirmed its commitment to continue supporting the development of MTOT/SPM by providing and strengthening agricultural demonstration plots as spaces for field-based learning and proof of concept.

Meanwhile, TTU Regency has prepared three sites as an initial step toward trialling the MTOT method in ways suited to its own regional characteristics.

This step reflects the core spirit of the knowledge exchange: not stopping at watching and listening, but bringing knowledge home to be tested, adapted, and developed in each region.

For TTU, the MTOT/SPM lessons are especially relevant given the region's relatively long dry season. For Pesisir Selatan, in turn, TTU's experience in developing Eco-Enzyme will be the focus of learning in the next round of activities.

In this way, the exchange unfolds in a spirit of equality — Pesisir Selatan learning from TTU, and TTU learning from Pesisir Selatan.

From Rice Fields, Collaboration Grows

The second day of the knowledge exchange in Nagari Sungai Gayo Lumpo showed that development learning does not always emerge from formal settings. It can just as easily grow out of a rice field, out of a farmer's experience, out of the courage to try, and out of regions' willingness to learn from one another.

The MTOT/SPM technique studied by the TTU delegation is more than just a cultivation method. Embedded within it are lessons in efficiency, the use of natural materials, soil management, and how to rebuild farmers' trust in the innovations they choose to apply themselves.

The activity was attended by a delegation from the TTU Regency Government, GIZ SDGs SSTC, the Pesisir Selatan Regency SDGs Secretariat, the Pesisir Selatan Regency Bapperida (Regional Planning, Research, and Development Agency), LP2M, the Sungai Gayo Lumpo Nagari Women Farmers Group (KWT), the Wali Nagari and village officials, and local farmers.

The TTU–Pesisir Selatan knowledge exchange further reinforces one central idea: innovation only becomes meaningful when knowledge does not remain a story but is translated into practice and delivers real benefit to communities.