Javanese Postpruduction Processes of Rice in Transition

"This study identified major changes in postproduction processes of rice in Java since the early 1970's, from harvesting practices to agro-industries. The widely spread cultivation of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) has changed the use of harvesting tools (from a rice knife to a sickle) and the form of rice grains handled by farmers in the field (from panicles to paddy). A remarkable increase in wet-season harvests has created a problem of how to handle the huge amount of wet paddy at harvest time in the late rainy season. Intervention by the Indonesian government has played an essential role in stabilizing the retail prices of rice as well as in improving the quality of white rice in distribution. The rapid development of the milling industry has swept away hand pounding to liberate rural women from monotonous, time-consuming work and reduced the significant losses of rice in on-farm processing.