Time to Take Care of Our Eternal Legacy

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A man scoops coffee beans at a coffee-processing house B&B in Marade village, Pollung district, Hambang Hasundutan regency in North Sumatra on Wednesday(13/12/2017). Sumatra Lintong Arabica coffee is exported to several countries, including Germany, Japan, China, the UK and US. This coffee type is set to be certified soon.

In downtown Tokyo, the name Mandheling is legendary. Among the various coffee varieties available at sales outlets, Mandheling beans have always been the most expensive. It is a prima donna among coffee variants.

Ever since it was first produced by Dutch colonialists in 1835, the unique taste of Mandheling or Mandailing coffee, cultivated around Bukit Barisan Mountain in North Sumatra, has inspired global awe – including in Japan. Mandheling coffee is found not only in cafes and souvenir shops, but also onboard the Shinkansen bullet train.

The coffee is popular because of its strength, high density, medium-level acidity, floral notes and uniquely sweet aftertaste not found in other coffee variants. “Mandheling is one of my favorite coffee variants,” said Tanaka, a coffee shop customer in Shibuya, Japan.

At the coffee shop, roasted Mandheling coffee beans are priced at 970 yen (US$9.06) per 200 grams. It is the most expensive out of all the coffee beans available at the shop, including Colombian, Kilimanjaro, Brazilian and Mocha.

Stark contrast

However, far away from the busy crowds of Japanese coffee lovers, Mandheling does not enjoy a similar level of fame in its own homeland. In the past, Mandheling was a trade name for Arabica coffee transported from Natal Port in Mandailing Natal regency. The actual coffee beans have never been exclusively from Mandailing. Instead, they are sourced from various coffee production centers in the North Sumatran highlands.

Despite Mandheling coffee’s consistent global popularity, nowadays it is increasingly difficult to find coffee plantations in Mandailing. As a local resource, it has almost been forgotten. When prices plummeted 10 years ago, almost all local coffee plants were cut down. In their plantations, rubber trees now grow.

Other than in Mandailing, coffee plant eradication also took place in Simalungun, Dairi and Karo. The family of Erond Damanik, a Medan State University anthropologist, are witness to this.

His father Derman Damanik did not cut down all the coffee plants in their backyard for no reason. At first, he had hoped to rely on the coffee for an income after retirement.

Unexpectedly, coffee prices plummeted just before harvest. In the local market, the price of green coffee beans fell to Rp 8,000 per kg. “It was lower than a coffee pickers’ daily wage. If we harvest the coffee beans, we would have suffered from a loss instead of profiting,” he said.

Furthermore, the 10-year-old coffee plants should have been productive. However, yields kept decreasing. As it turned out, the seeds were of poor quality.

Erond’s father finally decided to cut down all of his coffee plants. At the same time, the price of oranges skyrocketed. So, Derman and around 80 local farmers replaced their coffee plants with orange trees.

Problems in plantations

Now, as coffee’s fame and price soars globally, local farmers face a new problem. Coffee production in almost all regions in the archipelago fell. From Aceh to Lampung, as well as in Flores, Toraja and Papua, yields are minimal. Weather conditions are said to be the cause of this.

The Northern Sumatra branch head of the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association, Saidul Alam, said government attention on coffee production, including on research, cultivating coffee seeds, empowering farmers and ensuring market access, is poor.

Thus far, coffee seeds available in Indonesia are of poor quality. As a result, the plants often have a short life. They will no longer be productive after 10 years. This is despite coffee plants’ reputation as a lifelong investment. “Without rejuvenation and research on superior varieties, stories of the prosperity coffee brings will soon be a thing of the past,” Saidul said.

Data from the Directorate General of Plantations said domestic coffee bean productivity in 2016 was only 707 kilograms per hectare, far below other major coffee-producing countries, which reach above one ton. Based on Indonesia’s natural potential, domestic coffee productivity should be above three tons per ha. Poor productivity potentially results in the loss of Rp 41 trillion in annual state revenue.

Problems in domestic coffee production have long been discussed by stakeholders. Fifteen years ago, experts had predicted Arabica coffee demand would boom. “However, we did not anticipate it properly. Now we don’t have enough coffee,” Saidul said.

Coffee planting techniques in Indonesia still rely on traditional knowledge passed down orally through generations. Farmers’ empowerment initiatives are minimal. Today, only a handful of coffee farmers rejuvenate their coffee plants. Many of them think of coffee as a legacy. “My mama planted these. I only have to harvest them,” Saidul said, quoting a local farmer he knew.

Similar issues were also found in Toraja, Enrekang, Flores and Papua. Major problems in coffee cultivation are related to planting pattern and the capacity of human resources.

Thus far, the majority of farmers in North Toraja and Tana Toraja rely on coffee seeds that fall on the ground to rejuvenate their coffee plantations. This has been going on for generations. Coffee seed cultivation is conducted by only a handful of farmers.

Empowering farmers

Now, coffee prices have soared. Farmer Yahya Yoanda, 32, of Nagori Sait Buttu Saribu in Pamatang Sidamanik district, Simalungun, said he regretted having cut down his coffee plants four years ago. However, he refused to be drowned in sorrow.

Together with a number of farmers in the Simalungun Arabica Sumatra Producers’ Cooperative, Yahya learns proper coffee processing techniques. The farmers study coffee management science at the Coffee and Cocoa Research Center. “There is still hope for coffee,” Yahya said.

With adequate skills, Yahya and other local farmers now no longer sell coffee cherries. Instead, they have switched to selling green coffee beans, the price of which can be ten times that of cherries. This is profitable.

Yahya said most farmers were still traumatized by the highly fluctuations of coffee prices. Nevertheless, he believes that they will be able to manage coffee well with proper empowerment initiatives. He is sure they can enjoy coffee’s added value. It is time to manage our coffee again.

(NSA/GRE/REN/VDL/ITA)