The Balinese, organized into subaks (farming cooperatives), have exploited the volcanic landscape and the approximately 150 waterways of their island by erecting a vast irrigation system, allowing them to practice rice cultivation. Water retained in the hills is directed into the terraced fields through a network of canals. Rice is considered by the Indonesian farmers to be a gift of the gods. Temples are erected in the middle of the rice fields and, at each stage in the harvest, offerings are made in honour of Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice. The introduction of a new rapidly growing variety of rice in 1976 has increased the number of annual harvests from two to three, and today Indonesia is the third-leading producer of rice in the world, after China and India. In 2000 Indonesia produced 51 million tons, 8 percent of the total world production.

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