In addition to human and property losses, thousands of hectares of dry season rice, which was near harvest, were also damaged. The pattern of rainfall is an important determinant of agricultural production in the country, particularly during the main wet season, which extends from October to March. Sumatra is the second largest rice producer in Indonesia after Java and would normally produce between 20 and 25 percent of the aggregate output in a year, with almost 45 percent of this coming from the northern and western provinces. Although reports indicate that rubber plantations on the island, a key producing area, were not seriously damaged by floods, the resultant disruption to transportation and communication systems, have, nonetheless, had an impact on supplies and marketing, driving up prices. These eroded the livelihood of large sections of the population, particularly in urban areas, increasing poverty levels and vulnerability to food insecurity.
Higher production is attributed to a long wet season and only minor incidences of pests and disease.
The area harvested remained around an average 11.6 million hectares. The figure below indicates relative rice imports from the 1970s to 2001. Despite a satisfactory situation overall, however, concerns remain for food security in parts of the country affected by civil unrest, which includes Aceh in the north-western tip of Sumatra which was also seriously affected by the recent floods. This report is prepared on the responsibility of the FAO Secretariat with information from official and unofficial sources.