Bali farmers insure rice fields in defense against El Nino

NUSA DUA - Tourist taxi driver Nur-ul Aslam watches in hopeful silence as drops of rain begin to cloud his windscreen.

Last year at this time he was farming rice on his two-hectare farm 40 kilometres northeast of Bali's airport. But a long spell of dry weather, which has lasted since last July, dried up irrigation channels in his village of Tegal Mengkeb.

To survive, the 33-year-old walked away from his farm last December and began driving a taxi in Nusa Dua, a tourist hub with dozens of luxury resorts. He dreams of returning home.

"We need regular good showers, but there is mostly drizzle. Unless the subaks (water channels) are full again, I can't plant any crop," he said.

http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/bali-farmers-insure-rice-fields-defense-against-el-nino