Let\'s Protect Coffee, Our Treasure

The Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center was lively on Thursday night. Many people of different backgrounds gathered in the exhibition hall to attend the Nusantara Coffee Festival. The people joined the event for one reason: their love for the archipelago’s coffee.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Visitors look at photos exhibited at the Nusantara Coffee Festival at the Bentara Budaya cultural center in Jakarta, Thursday (19/7/2018). The Nusantara Coffee Festival, which is held from July 19 to July 22, includes a number of activities, such as photo exhibition, coffee bazaar, coffee discussion and coffee roasting workshop.

The Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center was lively on Thursday night. Many people of different backgrounds gathered in the exhibition hall to attend the Nusantara Coffee Festival, held by the Kompas daily in cooperation with Bank BRI. The people joined the event for one reason: their love for the archipelago’s coffee.

The festival is part of the “Jelajah Kopi Nusantara”, a journalistic expedition to the various coffee growing centers in the country that Kompas carried out between April and June.

Different varieties of coffee from a number of regions, such as Gayo (Aceh), Jayawijaya (Papua), Kerinci (Jambi), Southwest Sumba (East Nusa Tenggara), Sridonoretno Dampit (Malang), Manggarai (Flores), and Lintong and Sidikalang (North Sumatra) were displayed during the festival.

Outside the exhibition hall were a number of coffee stalls, a display of coffee equipment and mixing tools, and an exhibit of photos taken during the expedition

Other activities such as a discussion, a coffee roasting session and a brewing contest were also held during the event, which was opened jointly by Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo, Bank BRI finance director Haru Koesmahargyo and Kompas chief editor Budiman Tanuredjo.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo (center), accompanied by BRI business and finance strategy director Haru Koesmahargyo (right) and Kompas deputy editor Ninuk Mardiana Pambudhy (left), enjoy a cup of coffee from one of the booths at the Nusantara Coffee Festival at the Bentara Budaya cultural center in Jakarta, Thursday (19/7/2018).

"If we talk about coffee, Indonesia is a major producer. Coffee is also one of the most important agricultural commodities in villages. The business is growing. It is hoped these activities can help improve the welfare of farmers across the country," said Eko.

Bank BRI provides credit to support efforts in promoting coffee plantations and other coffee businesses. "BRI has so far provided about Rp 1.4 trillion in credit to 48,000 people in the coffee business, such as those related to planting, production, processing and distribution," said Haru.

Budiman said the coffee festival was part of the Kompas daily’s “Jelajah Kopi Nusantara” coffee expedition. This was one of the daily’s efforts to encourage understanding of Indonesia through coffee.

Expectations

In the midst of the enthusiasm of participants and visitors, we hope this exhibition would inspire new efforts to improve regional coffee businesses. It is not just for the economic improvement, but also in improving quality human resources.

"Today, if we ask for money, many people will show up with various interests. But that\'s not what we want. We want to be assisted not just through money, but also training,” said MM Anggriani Lele Biri, the economic promotion head at the Southwest Sumba regional development planning agency’s research and development unit in Nusa Tenggara Timur. “We want our human resources to be taught to be good coffee farmers so they can produce and meet the demands of many people, and get a good market. I think that this could be a solution to alleviate poverty in remote areas like ours.”

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo (left), together with BRI business and finance strategy director Haru Koesmahargyo (center) and Kompas deputy editor Ninuk Mardiana Pambudhy (right) look at photos of the Jelajah Kopi Nusantara coffee expedition at the Nusantara Coffee Festival at the Bentara Budaya cultural center in Jakarta, Thursday (19/7/2018).

The regency has about 11,000 coffee farmers with 11,500 hectares of coffee plantations (including cacao plantations). However, only 21 people had joined the farmers’ coaching program that the Indonesian Institute of Science’ss (LIPI) coffee and cocoa research center carried out in the region. The LIPI center also helped establish a farmers’ cooperative called Kaliodana.

Elisabeth Malo Pageru , 66, a farmer in Kadiroma village, Central Wewewa district, Southwest Sumba, said they had joined the LIPI coaching program in 2015. They were taught to pick and process coffee in a better way. "Before, we did not pick just red berries. As a result, our coffee was not good. Now, our coffee is good, with a chocolate flavor," said Elisabeth. The coffee has a chocolate flavor because the coffee trees are planted alongside cacao trees.

Although there has been an improvement in the coffee quality, production in Southwest Sumba remains low. Elisabeth\'s 2-hectare coffee plantation only produces about 200 kilograms per harvest, only enough to meet local demand.

Coffee farmers in Jayawijaya, Papua, face another problem in coffee cultivation. According to data from the Jayawijaya Agriculture Agency, the regency has 1,712 farmers and 1,910 hectares of plantations. These comprise of 350 hectares of new coffee plantations, 480 hectares of producing plantations, and more than 1,000 hectares of neglected plantations.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Visitors look at photos exhibited at the Nusantara Coffee Festival at the Bentara Budaya cultural center in Jakarta, Thursday (19/7/2018). The Nusantara Coffee Festival, which is held from July 19 to July 22, includes a number of activities, such as photo exhibition, coffee bazaar, coffee discussion and coffee roasting workshop.

"In 2017, our production was only 125.8 tons. It is quite small, whereas demand is high. A solution is needed to increase production of good quality coffee,” said Hendri Tetelepta, head of the Jayawijaya Agriculture Agency.

In taking part in the festival, Hendri hoped to lift the synergy in Jayawijaya coffee production. He expected that the coffee plantations would be restructured from the upstream to downstream businesses.

The efforts of the Jayawijaya coffee farmers to gain government attention should be appreciated. Four people from Wamena traveled to Jakarta to the join the festival at the expense of CV Cartenz, a Jayawijaya coffee shop. They were only able to bring about 15 kilograms of coffee with them.

"We were only able to carry three boxes. Our baggage was overweight and we were asked to pay an excess baggage charge of Rp 100,000 per kg. It\'s very expensive," said CV Cartenz director Paul Sarira, 52. In fact, about 200 kilograms were delivered by ship. This is one of the complex problems of coffee production in Papua.

(SIWI YUNITA CAHYANINGRUM)