Mina Padi Carp in Nanggala: Strengthen the Economy, Protect the Toraja Homeland

The Nanggala Customary Area in North Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, continues to fight for recognition of its ancestral land. This effort is supported by the issuance of Regional Regulation No. 1 of 2019 concerning the Recognition and Protection of Customary Law Communities. However, the ratification of the customary area of ​​15.638,46 hectares—including protected forests and conservation areas—is still hampered by the winding administrative process.

Although not yet legally recognized, the Nanggala Indigenous Community continues to maintain and manage its customary territory independently. One of their efforts is to revive the practice of mina padi, an integrated farming system by placing carp cultivation on rice fields. This system increases farmers' income by making the rice fields a habitat for fish, as well as a source of protein for families.

With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, the Nanggala Indigenous Community took the initiative to re-practice the mina padi tradition in Tana, which for them is not just a farming technique but a legacy of local wisdom that supports environmental sustainability as a source of livelihood. Accompanied by AMAN Toraya and the Pao Nanggala Fish Farmers Group, the Nanggala Indigenous Community underwent training in fish farming, land surveys, water management, and harvesting techniques.

Tana Toraja has a terraced agricultural landscape (terraces/snakes) due to its hilly geographical conditions. With a sloping contour, it is difficult to build irrigation channels, most of the rice fields are rain-fed. The main challenge for the Nanggala Indigenous Community in implementing mina padi is the availability of water. The results of the training gave them technical knowledge that rain-fed rice fields that depend entirely on rainfall are less suitable for mina padi. ​​The ideal rice fields for mina padi are close to irrigation access and free from flooding. Based on the survey, the Nanggala Indigenous Community determined six hectares of rice fields as the main location for spreading carp for mina padi.

The type of fish that is raised is carp. This favorite fish of the Toraja people is almost never absent from various important community events, especially in the "Rambu Tuka'" ceremony such as weddings, births, big harvests, and the inauguration of Tongkonan houses, carp (or sometimes replaced with snapper) is the main ingredient in the "Pa'piong" dish. The economic opportunities of carp are very promising, when busy traditional events are held, the price of carp can reach IDR 100.000 per kilogram.

As part of the activity, the community also built a gazebo as a learning and consolidation center. This gazebo is a space for sharing knowledge between generations—from traditional leaders, farmers, to indigenous women—to ensure that the practice of mina padi continues to develop and is sustainable.

According to Montazeri (2012), mina padi is one of the best agricultural land technologies to anticipate climate anomalies, because this integrated cultivation can increase the productivity of rice fields and improve environmental quality. This system increases rice production by 10%, increases the diversity of income sources with the presence of fish, reduces the need for fertilizer by 30% which also contributes to improving soil and water quality. In addition to reducing the use and operational costs of pesticides and herbicides, the costs used for fish maintenance are also cheaper. Because the cost of providing land, irrigation and soil cultivation are included in the cost of rice field cultivation.

The Toraja people have a cultural heritage from their ancestors as a way to adapt to hilly geographical conditions for irrigation of agricultural land. Namely, the community developed a system kuang or kusian—a small well in the middle of a rain-fed rice field functions as a water reservoir, a source of drinking water for livestock, and a place for fish farming. Each rice field can have one to three kuang, depending on the size of the rice field.

Like the ancestral Toraja rice-fish farming practice that has been passed down from generation to generation, the cultivation practices of the Nanggala Indigenous Community are very closely related to... kuang. Instead of using caren (a hole dug in the ground on the edge of the rice field), kuang in the middle of the rice field, it functions as a place for fish to gather. So that when harvesting, the rice field water does not need to be drained and selective fish harvesting is easier to do.

In addition, the local wisdom of Toraja which prefers carp for rice-fish is not without reason. The behavior of carp in searching for food by turning over the soil is more active than other freshwater fish. The movement of carp actively turning over the soil helps increase aeration and nutrient distribution, thus increasing rice productivity.

The rice-fish system creates a mutually beneficial relationship between fish and rice. Fish help loosen the soil, increase aeration, and distribute nutrients, while their waste becomes natural fertilizer. Rice pests and weeds are also naturally reduced because they become fish food, thus reducing the use of pesticides. In turn, rice provides shade that stabilizes water temperatures and protects fish from predators and direct sunlight.

By reviving the tradition of mina padi, the Nanggala Indigenous Community is not only preserving their ancestral heritage, but also reactivating a sustainable integrated farming system. More than just economic improvement, this practice is an active effort to protect the natural resources of land and water.