From January to April, the harvest of the main rice was completed, while the rainy season maize in Java and Sumatra was still growing between January and February, and the harvest started in March.

The proportion of irrigated cropland in Indonesia is only 14% and agro-meteorological conditions play a decisive role in the growth of most crops. CropWatch agroclimatic indicators show that precipitation (RAIN -6%) was below the 15YA, while radiation (RADPAR +5%) and temperature (TEMP +0.2°C) were slightly above average, which led to a slight increase of the potential biomass production (BIOMSS +1%).

NDVI clusters and profiles show that 56.7% of the cropland was significantly below the 5YA at the beginning of the monitoring period, but returned to normal in mid‐February. The crop conditions on 43.4% of arable land were close to the 5YA, mainly in Medan, Bandung, Java, Kupang, Timor, and Ambon. Considering that the area of cropped arable land in Indonesia was close to the 5YA (CALF 100%) and the VCIx value reached 0.95, the crop conditions are anticipated to be on average or slightly above.

Regional analysis

The analysis below focuses on four agro-ecological zones, namely Sumatra (92), Java (90), Kalimantan and Sulawesi (91) and West Papua (93), among which the first three are most relevant to crops cultivation. Java is the main agricultural region in Indonesia. The numbers correspond to the labels on the VCIx and NDVI profile maps.

According to the agroclimatic conditions of Java, temperature (TEMP +0.1°C) and radiation (RADPAR +7%) were above average, whereas precipitation (RAIN -6%) was below the 15YA, which may have resulted in average potential biomass production (BIOMSS +0%). The NDVI development graphs indicate that crop conditions were close to average in January, mid-March and April, but below the 5YA at other times. Crop conditions on Java Island can be expected to be close to the average.

In the Kalimantan and Sulawesi region, precipitation (RAIN -10%) was below average, but temperature (TEMP +0.2°C) and radiation (RADPAR +6%) were above the 15YA. They resulted in an increase in the potential biomass production (BIOMSS +1%). The NDVI development graphs show that crop conditions were below the 5YA. Overall, crop conditions in Kalimantan and Sulawesi were assessed as close to or slightly above the average.

In Sumatra, precipitation (RAIN -3%) was below the 15YA, whereas temperature (TEMP +0.2°C) and radiation (RADPAR +5%) were above average, which led to an increase in the potential biomass production (BIOMSS +1%). According to the NDVI development graphs, crop conditions were close to average in mid-March, but below average at other times. Crop conditions in this region are anticipated to be above the average.

Figure 3.19. Indonesia’s crop condition, January – April 2022

(a). Phenology of major crops

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(c) Maximum VCI

(d) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA        (e) NDVI profiles

(f)Rainfall profiles

(g)Temperature profiles

(h) Proportion of NDVI anomaly categories compared with 5YA

(i) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI (Java)

(j) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI (Kalimantan-Sulawesi (left) and Sumatra (right))

Table 3.29 Indonesia’s agroclimatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA, January – April 2022

Table 3.30 Indonesia’s agronomic indicators by sub-national regions, current season’s values and departure from 5YA, January – April 2022