There is a story behind the establishment of a supporting facility for agricultural activities in Lekona Village, Pantai Baru District.
It all began with an online report submitted by the Village Head, Stefen Julianus Beda, highlighting the need for attention to hundreds of hectares of potential land across three rice field complexes.
The reported areas are Selunilun (approximately 50 Ha), Haebupu (approximately 30 Ha), and Lapudale (approximately 60 Ha).
This report was made through the "Desanesha" application developed by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
The application, provided by LPPM ITB, aims to facilitate Village Heads in addressing real issues in their respective villages, especially in remote, frontier, and outermost areas (3T).
"Yes, I have access to it and I raised issues about agriculture faced by farmers through that application," said Village Head Stefen Julianus Beda, confirmed by ROTE MALOLE on Thursday (30/11).
"After that, a team from LPPM ITB and the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendesa PDTT) immediately visited the location. And now we have seen results in our village," he continued.
Separately, the head of the LPPM ITB team, Mohamad Nur Heriawan, confirmed this.
He was accompanied by Arie Naftali Hawu Hede and Tomy Alvin Rivai, both lecturers and researchers from the Earth Resources Exploration Expertise Group, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, ITB.
His team collaborated with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendesa PDTT).
"We arrived and were warmly welcomed on Rote Island, Sunday (16/7). The next day, Monday (17/7), the team headed to Lekona Village," said Mohamad Nur Heriawan, head of the LPPM ITB team.
"In addition to the research lecturers, there were three students involved in the team, who also used this activity for their internships and the implementation of the Free Learning-Independent Campus (MBKM) program," he added.
The three mentioned students are Kokoh Syahwalid, I Gede Surya Pratama Djelantik, and Yubi Wilisetya, from the Bachelor of Mining Engineering Program, ITB.
Upon arriving at Lekona Village, they immediately verified the surface geological conditions, surveyed the availability of surface water sources and shallow groundwater (reservoirs, springs, dug wells),” he explained.
Then, they conducted geoelectric surveys, measured the elevation of the shallow groundwater table, and measured the quality of surface water and shallow groundwater.
"The preliminary interpretation yielded the identification of pockets or lenses of limestone suspected to store water. This potential lies at a depth of about 50-80 meters, while the main aquifer layer is suspected to be below 120 meters," he revealed.
"After that, the team processed data on the elevation of the shallow groundwater table, water quality, and the boundaries of rainwater catchment areas from topographic data," he further explained.
He continued that with their presence, they somewhat addressed the farmers' concerns. A small reservoir was built as a first priority for the Lapudale rice field complex.
The hope is that it can capture rainwater runoff during the wet season, which can then be utilized during the dry/hot season.
"A small reservoir was built in the Lapudale rice field complex and is already in use. Its size is not too large, measuring 25 meters in length, 25 meters in width, and approximately 2 meters in depth," said Mohamad Nur.
"From this reservoir, it can be minimally utilized to irrigate horticultural crops during the dry season," he added.
"And it was handed over by LPPM ITB to the Village Head of Lekona on Thursday afternoon (2/11). It is hoped that a similar scheme can be implemented in the following year for the other two rice field complexes," he concluded, expressing gratitude to several parties.
"We would like to thank Mr. Filadelfia Fiah as the Head of the P3MD TAPM of Rote Ndao District, Acting Head of Pantai Baru Sub-District, Mr. Micha Manubulu, and Village Head of Lekona, Stefen Julianus Beda, for welcoming our team," he concluded.
