Jaidi, Empowerment Through Shallots
The soil of Kalimantan was originally thought to be poorly suited to cultivating shallots. However, Jaidi, 50, has disproved this assumption. Since 2014, the farmer has successfully cultivated shallots in his hometown of Harapan Masa village in Tapin regency, South Kalimantan. He has shared his knowledge with other farmers to share the benefits of shallot farming.
Upon meeting at the end of 2018, Jaidi was preparing nearly 1 hectare of land for planting shallots. The soil had been ploughed and formed into long mounds.
Jaidi said he had not started planting because it was still raining heavily. “Shallots cannot be planted during high rainfall, because the plants cannot tolerate it. If we force it, the results are not good. It could mean losses,” he said.
Jaidi, who has been cultivating shallots for five years, understands how shallots grow. He learned from his failure in his third year of planting shallots, when he harvested fewer shallots than his target because of rain.
“In 2016, I was determined to plant shallots during high rainfall. Cultivating shallots then had low productivity. Since then, I do not want to plant shallots if the rainfall is high,” he said.
Jaidi began cultivating shallots in 2014 at his farm in Harapan Masa village, South Tapin district, Tapin regency, South Kalimantan. He started by planting the seeds of the Bima Brebes shallot variety on 0.5 hectare.
“In 2014, I was still learning how to cultivate shallots. I also was still trying it out after observing the agricultural office’s shallot farming pilot project on the land belonging to one farmer in Tapin,” said Jaidi, who graduated from the State Agricultural Technology Senior High School in Rantau.
The pilot project planted shallots in May and successful harvested the crop in August 2014 for a yield of 5 tons from the 0.5-hectare farm. “During the harvest, the buyers came directly to the farm. They bought the shallots at Rp 40,000 per kilogram,” he said.
The results of the first shallot cultivation were highly appealing. Jaidi can make Rp 200 million from a single harvest, whereas only around Rp 40 million was spent on production costs, from preparing land and buying seeds, and from crop maintenance to harvesting.
This success immediately cleared Jaidi’s doubts about cultivating shallots in Kalimantan. Initially, Jaidi, the chairman of the Mekar Bersama II Farmers Group, doubted that shallots could be grown in Kalimantan.
“Even though I graduated from an agricultural school, I was unsure that the soil here was suitable for growing shallots. I still believed that shallots are only suitable for cultivating in Java and Nusa Tenggara. After proving myself wrong, I became convinced that shallots were also suitable for cultivating in Kalimantan,” said Jaidi, who was born in Nganjuk, East Java.
Following
Seeing Jaidi’s success, other farmers began to follow in his footsteps and planted shallots. Farmers from other farmers groups also started planting shallots, and not just the Mekar Bersama II farmers. The regional administration also intensified shallot production.
Today, at least three farmers groups – each comprising 20-25 farmers – cultivate shallots. Each farmer shares their knowledge and experience on growing shallots. Jaidi is always happy to share his experience.
“Every Thursday night, the residents here hold a Quran recitation. That’s usually when we share our experience of cultivating shallots. Those who are less successful can learn from those who have been successful. We want everyone to succeed,” said Jaidi, who has been living in South Kalimantan since 1978.
Jaidi said that shallot cultivation was very promising, even with the high production cost of around Rp 90 million per hectare. However, the profits the farmers earn offset these costs.
“Here, the average production is 8 tons per hectare. If the price of shallots is Rp 20,000 per kilogram, the farmers make Rp 160 million and earn Rp 70 million in profit per season. If the price is more than Rp 20,000 per kilogram, the profits are even greater,” he said.
So far, Jaidi said, the farmers had no difficulties in marketing the shallots. During the harvest season, the buyers purchase directly from the farms. They never buy shallots for less than Rp 20,000 per kilogram, and often buy at prices above Rp 20,000 per kilogram. They would even buy shallots for Rp 40,000 per kilogram when there are no shallots from Java or Bima.
However, since many farmers cultivate shallots, the selling price has never reached Rp 40,000 per kilogram. “To keep the shallot price from falling below Rp 20,000 per kilogram, we avoid planting shallots at the same time as farmers in Java. That way, they are also harvested at different times, “ Jaidi said.
Jaidi continues to share his knowledge on shallot cultivation through his affiliation with Bank Indonesia (BI). As one of the recipients of the BI agricultural assistance for shallot cultivation, Jaidi is often invited to train other farmers in South Kalimantan.
BI South Kalimantan office head Herawanto said that Jaidi was one example of a successful farmer who started from scratch. He promoted shallot cultivation in his area, then taught other farmers the technique.
Jaidi was also appointed as the chair of the Tapin Regency Shallot Farmers Association. In 2018, the association signed a partnership with a private company to export shallots starting in 2019.
“If I was the only one cultivating shallots, how would it be possible to meet the export demand? I have
therefore never felt that sharing knowledge on shallot cultivation was a minus. I am actually happy and proud because many farmers have now succeeded in cultivating shallots,” he said.
Jaidi
Born: Nganjuk, Aug. 17, 1968
Wife: Sumarmi, 45
Children: Nyono Suhendra, 28; Prapto Suherman, 22; Joko Bayu Aji, 14,
Education:
- Rantau State Agriculture Technology Senior High School (now the SMK Negeri 1 South Tapin vocational high school), graduated in 1986
Occupation:
- Farmer
- Chairman, Mekar Bersama II Farmers Group, Harapan Masa village, South Tapin
- Chairman, Tapin Regency Shallot Farmers Association