Coffee farmers have looked to find solutions to their struggles, to be autonomous, and to unleash the potential of local wisdom. Kitchenware has become a research tool and the farm a laboratory.
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·5 minutes read
Coffee farmers have looked to find solutions to their struggles, to be autonomous, and to unleash the potential of local wisdom. Kitchenware has become a research tool and the farm a laboratory.
It was early in the morning when Hernawan, 40, rushed from his tilted house in Way Mengaku, Liwa, West Lampung, Lampung. He wore a caping (cone-shaped bamboo sun hat) and brought a small machete on his waist. He also carried a small bag of kitchenware.
“I am ready to go to my office,” he said. By office he was referring to a two hectare Robusta coffee plantation some 200 meters from his house. The coffee plantation looked neat.
Rays of sunlight came through the coffee trees, which stood 1.5 meters high. He routinely prunes the branches and leaves to keep them productive. The plantation was free from dried leaves. The distance between the trees was around two meters. “This is the outcome of my regular office visits. I could spend half an hour or more at the farm,” Hernawan said.
The farm has become his laboratory. That day, he practiced how to make a device to distract pests. He copied a device sold at a traditional market using a soft drink bottle. He put a piece of banana inside the bottleneck and filled the bottom with detergent.
Based on his observation, the pests liked the fragrant smell. So, after feeding on the banana, the pest would fall into the detergent liquid. The device will be installed during the transition from the dry season to wet season or when the plantation is about to produce fruit.
Aside from that, the third generation coffee farmer also has a strategy to keep ants away. He made an ants nest from dried leaves and placed it away from the coffee branches that block direct sunlight. It aims is to divert the ants away from the branches that produce fruit. “Dozens of farmers have used this method,” he said proudly.
Pruning time
Such simple, yet effective, research has also been used by farmers in Tugusari, Sumber Jaya, West Lampung, Lampung, in the past few years. The initiator was Ahmad Ervan, 54, a local farmer. One of his initiatives was to study the best time to trim the coffee trees to anticipate the weather transition in July-September. Seven years ago, the harvest period was affected by unfavorable weather.
“The pruning should be down in the 10th month of the year. That is the ideal time to prepare good fruit for harvest,” he said.
To convince other farmers to do likewise, Ervan needed seven years for observations and trials. The outcome was sweet. After previously gaining 600-700 grams of coffee cherries per tree, now he can get 1 kg per tree from around 15-20 branches. Each tree can potentially produce 2 kg.
In addition to developing devices and methods, coffee farmers also work to cultivate the best plants and seeds. Hasmin, 48, a farmer in Nating hamlet, Bungin, Enrekang regency, South Sulawesi, is one of them. After being grown for more than 100 years, the Typica coffee on the slopes of Mount Latimojong became less productive. However, Hasmin maintained the tree trunks that were big and strong. “The typica trunk is suitable for plantations on mountain slopes in Nating. But, the production was declining,” he said.
Although he did not finish elementary school, he did not give up. After seeking information from different sources, he decided to make grafts for his coffee. The Arabica typica trunk was paired with Arabica lini S-795 through grafting. The technique helped boost output from 500 grams of coffee beans per tree to 800 grams and even 1 kilogram.
In Gayo, Aceh, farmers have conducted research on new seeds. Now, at least 20 new varieties are used in Central Aceh, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues regencies, such as Ateng Super, Ateng Jaluk and Ateng Janda. The most popular is Ateng Super. In one hectare, Ateng Super can produce 1.7 tons of coffee beans per year, far surpassing average coffee production, which is below one ton per hectare.
At the coffee seeding center of Mude Benara village, Timbang Gajah district, Bener Meriah, which supplies more than 50 percent of Gayo coffee seeds, the most popular seed is Ateng Super. The seed has not been certified or recommended.
A farmer who produces the seed, Syahri Rafita, said the center produced 300,000 Ateng seeds last year and was sold out. When he produced 30,000 Gayo 1 seeds, the demand was minimal. “However I produce Ateng seeds, and the farmers buy them,” he said.
Regarding the purity of the variety, Sutarjo, a farming coach in Enrekang, said the coffee beans produced from grafting practices were now being assessed at Puslitkoka coffee research center to ascertain its purity, according to the standards required by the speciality coffee market.
In the face of challenges and limitations, coffee farmers have pushed themselves to be creative. Although it was a gamble, the results have been a success.