The Persistence of the Warwerik Farmers Group in Biak Numfor, Papua

The Warwerik community lives in Bawei Village, Biak Numfor, Papua. This village is located in a coastal area facing the Pacific Ocean. It is precisely located in the northern part of Numfor Island facing the Pacific Ocean, the eastern part and facing Supiori Regency and the Capital of Biak Numfor Regency, Papua Province. The southern part faces Nabire Regency, Central Papua Province, the western part faces Manokwari Regency, West Papua Province.

The majority of people in Warwerik Village depend on marine products, working as fishermen and selling their catch to the island across, precisely in Manokwari Regency, West Papua. This sales location must be reached by ship at a fairly expensive cost. Moreover, fishermen from Bawei Village only use traditional fishing equipment so that they provide limited catches. Meanwhile, the source of livelihood obtained from marine products is often not enough to meet needs, of course affecting the community's food kitchen.

On the other hand, the food needs of the people in Warwerik must still be met. The majority of the people of Numfor Island or 75% depend on the consumption pattern of rice, rather than local tubers. The purchase price of rice at local kiosks is IDR 15.000 / kg, up to IDR 17.000, - / kg.

The threat of stunting and declining public health quality are concerns for the Warwerik community. Thus, initiatives have begun to emerge from the community to develop alternative food sources and livelihoods, through the development of dryland rice on community-owned land with a collective management model to facilitate the fulfillment of food needs independently.

This initiated the formation of the Warwerik Farmers Group, which consists of 15 Family Heads. The Warwerik Farmers Group began by opening one hectare of land and processing it so that it was ready to be planted with dryland rice. In addition, group members were also provided with training in land processing, use of equipment/technology in planting dryland rice, and pest care and control were also carried out. The first harvest was only able to produce 50 kg of rice, constrained by weather and pest factors.

This failure did not discourage the Warwerik Farmers Group. The lessons learned from their first planting were used as experience and the group committed to continuing to develop their initiatives to support the economic welfare of families, through the independence of meeting the needs of the family kitchen in Warwerik.