Cocofloor, Solution to Drought in Sembalun Village Agricultural Land by the Department of Biology, FMIPA UI

Mountain climbers or nature lovers must be familiar with Sembalun Village. The village is one of the gateways to climbing Mount Rinjani. Sembalun Village has a beautiful natural landscape with agricultural areas around the foot of the mountain. Its fertile soil makes Sembalun Village a producer of various horticulture such as potatoes, onions, beans and coffee, so that the majority of the Sembalun community has a livelihood as farmers.

Agricultural land requires good irrigation to get optimal harvest results. Unfortunately, during the dry season, farmers in Sembalun Village often experience a shortage of water supply. This is an obstacle for farmers to get good harvest results.

Responding to this challenge, the community service team (Pengmas) of the Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) consisting of three students, namely Bismi Yasinta Maharani, Muhammad Aqmal Danish, and Windya Fajira, and under the guidance of lecturers from the Department of Biology Dr. Ratna Yuniati as team leader and Dr. Retno Lestari introduced a simple technology called Cocofloor, this technology aims to overcome the problem of lack of water supply.

"Cocofloor is a mixture of coconut fiber waste and sago water which is then molded like a carpet, then placed under a layer of soil and the land is ready to be planted. The nutrients in coconut fiber can fertilize the soil and at the same time can retain water longer, so that watering plants does not need to be done every day, it is very appropriate to be implemented in Sembalun Village when there is a rotation of water supply due to the dry season," said Dr. Ratna Yuniati.

Previously, the team had conducted counseling regarding Cocofloor as a water absorber on Saturday, August 6, 2022 in Sembalun Village, Sembalun District, East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.

Residents were very enthusiastic about the new technology introduced by the Community Service team and participated in conducting experiments to make Cocofloor.

"This cocofloor will greatly help Sembalun agriculture, generally in Sembalun there is land that is easy to get water but there is land that is difficult to get water. This area usually relies on rainwater only and in one year at least can only harvest once. Irrigation is difficult but with the cocofloor that can hold sixteen times more water than garden soil will be a good solution for agriculture in Sembalun." Said Andobi, a farmer in Sembalun Village.

News source : https://sci.ui.ac.id/