Food Self-Sufficiency in Border Areas

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Yosef Seran Klau

An earth path with mud holes divides the plantations owned by residents. Banana trees, corn, shallot and various secondary crops are grown on the plantations. It’s this track that leads to the house of Yosef Seran Klau, 55, who has transformed a remote village near the border of Indonesia and Timor-Leste into a community self-sufficient in food.

Over the last 15 years, Yosef has assumed the office of the head of Fafoe village in Central Malaka district. He has turned the village in Malaka regency, East Nusa Tenggara, into an exporter of shallots to Timor-Leste. The first shipment – 20 tons – was launched by an official of the Agriculture Ministry in 2017. Total shallot exports from Malaka regency have reached 40 tons.

The export takes place at the Motamasin border crossing station, around 25 kilometers from Betun, the capital of Malaka regency. Timor-Leste residents can enter to buy shallots there. With their passports, they are allowed entry without visas. Indonesia and Timor-Leste have a mutual visa-exemption agreement.

The export market has enticed most of Fafoe village’s 2,200 residents to grow shallots. Yosef serves as the bridge between farmers and the regency administration, so that farmers receive aid in the form of land, seedlings and fertilizer. All the aid is provided at the expense of the regency. Cultivating 1 hectare of land for shallots requires some Rp 15 million in capital.

Farmers’ plantations are also supervised by college lecturers of agriculture. Periodically, they’ll give farmers advice on the spot about proper crop-growing methods. One hectare of land can produce up to 6 tons of shallots.

“Shallots can last for more than a year,” said Yosef, showing a handful of shallots harvested in 2019.

Recently, the price of shallots on the market of Malaka regency has dropped to below Rp5,000 per kilogram, hitting farmers hard. The government cannot do much either. The regional administration has no budget to buy up farmers’ produce at an affordable price to be resold in other regions.

Yosef keeps motivating farmers not to lose hope. He also communicates with shallot buyers from Timor-Leste to help promote shallots from Fafoe.

It is indeed far from simple to achieve food self-sufficiency. To motivate the villagers, Yosef has had to start and set an example of how to become a farmer by cultivating idle land owned by the family. With such an example, the local community is readily following. “It’s not enough for a village leader to talk only,” he said.

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Yosef Seran Klau and his wife, Odilia Meak.

He has left the land plots he cannot handle alone to residents prepared to cultivate them. These residents are mostly new families. The greater part of the plantation yield is used to meet their needs.

“As long as their needs aren’t sufficiently met, they utilize the harvests. When they produce more to spare, they will share it with me,” he added.

Mandatory farming

Today, he owns more than 10 ha of land for secondary crops and 3 ha for banana trees. He also breeds about 700 chicken, 200 ducks, 21 pigs and 20 cows. He has called on local people to raise livestock as he does. Livestock breeding has promising prospects, because cattle demand for custom rituals in the region is very high.

Beyond setting an example, Yosef also obligates all staff members in the village to be engaged in farming. Village staffers should be role models for the community. “If any staffer is unwilling, I’ll promptly make a replacement. I think the person is not a leader is he’s unable to be a model,” he said.

Yosef understands the character of most farmers in his village. Their pride would often prevent them from selling their produce on the local market. Farmers were used to selling to agents visiting their plantations. But the market sales price is a multiple of the plantation rate, and the market in the regency capital is no more than 20 kilometers from the plantations. He invited residents to sell at the market. “My wife and I were selling at the market, and they have since joined us,” he noted.

Fighting spirit

Yosep has a fighting spirit in business. Since he attended college, he has been trading in the market. Every morning before going to the campus, he bought fish from fishermen and to be sold in the market. Occasionally, during vacations, he would sell fish out of town. He spent the sale proceeds on cattle to be raised and further sold. That fighting spirit is being instilled in village residents.

At present, every morning, the road from Fafoe to Betun is busy with vehicles carrying plantation harvests. Fafoe residents are among the sellers of vegetables, shallots and corn to sell their horticultural produce at the market.

Thanks to agriculture, more than 100 people in the village have finished their college studies

They spend their earnings on their children’s educational, among other needs. Thanks to agriculture, more than 100 people in the village have finished their college studies. “Had their pride got in the way of their vegetable trading, their children wouldn’t be able to go to college,” he said.

As a village head, Yosef is also responsible for education in the village. He initiated the building of a long-distance school for students of State Senior High School 1 of Central Malaka in Fafoe. At the time many student couldn’t attend school, because the road was cut off by overflowing water from the Benenain River. The long-distance school in Fafoe was the solution. The school was operated from 2010 to 2014.

“I’m a villager. I can feel how hard it is for villagers to fight their way to achieve their aspirations,” he pointed out.

Two batches of students graduated from the school. Since the Benenain River embankment was reinforced, the stream no longer overflows. Residents can now go to school in other better places. The long-distance school was closed. Traces of the school still stand on the land of Yosef. He uses the yard of the former school for breeding pigs, chickens and ducks.

Yosef sees that the village fund plus village allocations reaching the amount of Rp1 billion per village make many people fight for the post of village head. Frequently, village heads are involved in corruption. “Formerly our motivation to become village heads was to serve. There was no salary and we made a lot more sacrifice,” said Yosef, who will soon retire as village head.

Yosef promises to continue to assist the village even when he no longer holds the office of village head. He wants food self-sufficiency and economic independence to remain the breath of life of Fafoe village.

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Yosef Seran Klau

Yosef Seran Klau

Born: Fafoe, July 15, 1965

Wife: Adolia Meak, 53

Children: Jefri, 31, Johan, 29, Albert, 27, Faster, 23 and Delsi, 15

Education: First degree, School of Social and Political Sciences, Widya Mandira Catholic University, Kupang (1985-1992)