<![CDATA[Many parties have indicated inaccuracies in rice production data since 1997. To date, rice production figures have been calculated as the product of harvested area and productivity. The harvested area, using an area-based (sub-district) approach, has been reported monthly in stages by officers from the Regency/City Agricultural Service (PPL, Mantri Tani/KCD). Typically, the area is estimated using irrigation block systems, seed procurement records, and/or “eye estimates.” This approach is more of a Subjective Measurement. Meanwhile, the estimation of productivity has been conducted through the Crop-Cutting Survey (Survei Ubinan), using a household-based approach for food crop cultivators. Measurements are carried out by BPS officers and Regency/City Agricultural Service officers (PPL, Mantri Tani/KCD) on sample plots of 2.5 m × 2.5 m to estimate productivity per hectare. The measurements are conducted according to sub-rounds/quarters. Rice production figures are calculated for each sub-round, with data presented up to the regency/city level. Provincial figures are compiled from regency/city data, and national figures are compiled from provincial data. Data bias due to subjectivity also accumulates at every level of aggregation up to the national level. A study conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1998 indicated an overestimation of harvested area of about 17.07 percent [Source: BPS, Survey on Rice Planting Area Using a Household Approach in Java, 1996/97]. Similarly, the calculation of irrigated rice field areas has tended to increase—despite the fact that in reality, land conversion for industry, housing, or infrastructure has taken place, although in some cases new rice fields have also been developed. Although these issues had long been suspected, efforts to improve the methodology for calculating rice production were only undertaken in 2015. This was driven by the increasing urgency of providing faster and more accurate information and data on rice production to support decision-making in the national food sector. The previously applied method for estimating harvested area was considered less scientific, leading to results that were not objective, unmeasurable, and often overestimated. Therefore, a shift towards a more scientific and objective methodology was deemed necessary.]]>
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