Seven Lahat agricultural officials were involved in the event, led by the head of the plantation department, Engkos Kosasih.
"We want to help promote and market Lahat farmers\' processed coffee products outside of Sumatra," said Engkos, who brought Lahat coffee products over land and sea from more than 500 kilometers away to Buniseuri village.
They also brought with them a partner, Soufie Rhetoric, 42, a coffee volunteer who owns Rice Coffee and Craft. Engkos found out about the exhibition through social media.
The group brought about 30 kilograms of processed coffee that was ready to brew. At the booth, in addition to selling processed coffee, they also provided free coffee to visitors. Apparently, many visitors wanted to taste the sensation of South Sumatra\'s typical coffee.
According to Engkos, the Lahat regency has 51,000 hectares of coffee plantations capable of producing an average of 400-700 kilograms of dry coffee per ha. The coffee plantations are spread across 22 districts. At present, many farmers sell coffee beans, so the price is relatively low. To boost added value, the local agricultural office decided to help farmers in not only cultivating a technical culture, but also in marketing and promoting the processed products.
"We do not merely sell coffee beans, but process them first," said Engkos.
Mountain area
Lahat coffee is not as famous as Lampung coffee, although coffee from Lahat is also marketed and processed in Lampung. Robusta coffee is suitable in mountainous areas with a height of 110-1,000 meters above sea level.
There are also special coffee plantation areas with a production capacity of up to 2 tons per hectare. However, the average production of the farmers is 400-700 kg per ha because some of the coffee trees are over 10 years old and are no longer productive.
For the Lahat farmers, coffee cultivation is not something new and complicated. They have been used to cultivating coffee in the mountains from generation to generation, from planting, the selection of quality seeds and maintenance, to harvesting.
"What we need is to increase the selling price with higher value," Soufie said.
Therefore, agricultural officials try to provide assistance to farmers and help sell their products outside of South Sumatra. The agriculture office also encourages coffee makers to process coffee in the village. Thus, they can sell processed coffee.
According to Soufie, coffee produced by Lahat farmers has become an export commodity, but mostly through other areas. The coffee is brought from Lahat and processed in Palembang in South Sumatra, Jambi, Lampung, Padang and up to North Sumatra. So, it uses the brand of the areas where the coffee is processed.
"Therefore, we [help] the farmers so they can process [the coffee beans] themselves in their respective villages through mentoring," Soufie said.
"Therefore, we are now encouraging farmers to process the coffee themselves in their respective villages with our guidance," said Soufie.
For example, the coffee brand is named after the names of the villages where the coffee is processed, so it will become the pride of coffee farmers from the village.
Soufie and his coworkers visit several coffee production centers to guide farmers in processing the coffee themselves and form farmer groups.
Potential coffee plantation areas that can be turned into coffee processing centers are located in 16 districts, and five of them have begun processing activities. Basically, traditional processing methods have been conducted from generation to generation in each district.
They use local wisdom, such as using dimples and fryers from soil stoves or cauldrons and firewood. For them, the coffee they consume should be superior and have a good quality.
Lahat coffee, according to Engkos, is not so different from the coffee from West Java, which has received positive response from the market, both local and international. In the country, this coffee is widely marketed, especially in Jakarta, Bandung and their surrounding areas.
"We also have a network of Lahat coffee sellers in Bandung and Jakarta," Soufie said.
Abroad, coffee from West Java is marketed mostly in Europe and Northern Africa, including Morocco. And in East Asia, it is distributed in Japan and Taiwan.
In West Java, the productivity level of farmers reaches 1-2.5 tons per ha. In coffee plantations operated by state-owned Perhutani plantation company can produce up to 4 tons per hectare, with harvests twice a year.
The types of coffee grown in the province are Arabica and Robusta.
Robusta coffee is widely grown in Ciamis and Banjar, while Arabica coffee is widely available in regions across the province, from Cianjur, Bandung regency and West Bandung, to Subang, Sumedang and Majalengka.
The dry coffee produced by the farmers, according to Soufie, can fetch Rp 22,000 (US$1.65) per kg, up from Rp 18,000 per kg.
After further sorting, the dry coffee beans can be sold at Rp 50,000 to Rp 60,000 per kg.
In fact, the price of the coffee beans can reach Rp 100,000, almost the same as the price of coffee powder that has been packaged.
"Through mentoring, a group of our farmers can produce up to 250 kg in two months at a price of Rp 100,000 to 120,000 per kg," Soufie said.
Unfortunately, during the May and June harvest, the productivity of crops declined. Engkos suspect it was all due to high rainfall on the island of Sumatra. If there is too much rain, coffee flowers will not grow well.
Since the Dutch colonial era, Lahat coffee has been one of South Sumatra’s prime commodities. In fact, Lahat coffee, according to Soufie, was once a treat for Dutch Queen Wilhelmina.
