Kees Stigter, Yunita Winarto and a number of students were invited to make another visit on 23 December 2007 to a group of farmers that had followed a government organized Farmer Field School (FFS) on Climatic Change in Gunungkidul, Central Java, near Yogyakarta in a rain fed dry land area of Indonesia.

From the discussion with the farmers the visitors concluded that not so much was to be expected from the government apart from subsidizing and organizing FFSs. For the time being not much can be expected from available scientific products, in the form of services provided, as well. This was illustrated with the available forecast products from BMG (Indonesian National Weather Services) that also here, like in Indramayu, were of little help to these farmers because of the local scale of much of the phenomena. Farmers must build up their own new experience together.

Read full report of the field visit.

Resources on Climate Field Schools in Indonesia:

• Climate change is confusing Indonesian farmers: a visit to another Climate Field School in Indonesia, that of Gunungkidul near Yogyakarta - Report of a Field Visit, posted 7 January 2008
• Agrometeorology from Science to Extension: Assessment of Needs and Provision of Services - Paper presented on 26 October 2007 at the occasion of for the 50th Anniversary of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)
• An account of visiting those involved in climate field schools in Indonesia - Report of a Field Visit, posted 7 May 2007
• Between success and expansion: farmer field schools in north-east Bali - Posted on 2 October 2007
• News item of 18 October 2008