Rakhmad Hardiyanto, Millennial Farmer from Batu
Rakhmad Hardiyanto
Rakhmad Hardiyanto, 35, has stopped using his knowledge of machine engineering. In 2012, he shifted to agriculture, pursuing an agribusiness with jambu kristal (psidium guajava) or crystal guava. He focuses on modern agriculture in the hopes of creating millennial farmers.
Defri Werdiono
The busy man known as Hardi only paused from his activities to perform a Friday prayer (Feb. 1, 2019). Before and after the prayer, on the sidelines of taking orders from customers, he was busy meeting his guests. Meanwhile, a number of students from the Bogor Agricultural Institute were waiting in a garden called the Display Gardens. They had just arrived to conduct field work there.
The garden of about 1,000 square meters full of crystal guava plants is where Hardi usually spends his time every day. A multistory house in the middle of the garden is also a place of residence in addition to being a place for production. There, employees were busy packing fresh guava fruit that had just been harvested and sent to the market.
For seven years, Hardi has targeted the retail market in Malang and several other cities. He also serves consumers who want to get crystal guava fruit online. Hardi together with 17 partner farmers produce around 200 kilograms of guava every day.
“I don’t set a high level of daily production because we care more about quality. Only 2 quintals per day,” he said. At present, there are around 6,800 crystal guava trees belonging to Hardi and partner farmers. Interestingly, the trees have been certified for quality.
In 2014, Hardi opened his garden for guava-picking tours as he acknowledged Batu, East Java, had potential for tourism. Its population is 220,000, but 5.2 million tourists visited the area in 2018.
“The guava-picking tourism is more a derivative activity for my agribusiness," he said. Under the banner of UD Bumi Aji Sejahtera, Hardi not only concentrates on crystal guava, but also vegetables and lemon.
Big opportunities
Hardi\'s foray into agriculture began when he married in 2012. His father-in-law is a farmer who has 60 crystal guava trees that were formerly called “apple guava”. Previously, the father-in-law still cared for and sold four-year-old guava traditionally.
Knowing the taste of the guava was good, Hardi often brought the guava to his workplace at a state-owned company in Batu City. Because of demand, he began selling the guava to coworkers and college friends. From there, the father of two saw a great opportunity in crystal guava.
“In Jakarta, the price is Rp 38,000 per kilogram, whereas here it is a lot and tastes better. While other farmers sell for Rp 5,000 per kilogram, I sell for Rp 12,500 per kilogram,” he said.
After the sales began, Hardi asked for permission to manage the garden and the father-in-law gave it. Shortly, Hardi chose to resign from his job and focus more on managing the garden. He began to study all things, including product marketing.
For the marketing of crystal guava, Hardi uses online sales methods to reach markets outside the region. At that time, shipping goods to consumers still used conventional couriers.
Hardi\'s business expanded after an agricultural magazine published an article about his business. In 2012, he founded UD Bumi Aji Sejahtera. The existence of legal entities is considered important for sustainable farming, although some people consider it trivial. The product began to penetrate supermarkets in Malang.
"The approach I have taken is not just agriculture, but agribusiness – an entrepreneur in agriculture. This means it is about how our aspects of professionalism are put forward, how we build managerially. It is not just about just ordinary farming," he said.
In 2013, Hardi\'s apple guava mother tree received a certificate in the East Java Food and Horticulture Plants Supervision and Certification. After that, the name apple guava was replaced with crystal guava. Certification was also given to derivative seeds (grafts) distributed to partner farmers.
According to him, certification is useful for maintaining genetics, as the quality of fruit cannot be separated from genetics. “Other treatment processes, such as care and maintenance and standard operating procedures [SOPs], can indeed be changed but genetics cannot,” he said.
According to the graduate of mechanical engineering at the University of Brawijaya, Malang, class of 2003, one of his visions was community empowerment. Even though land is difficult to obtain, Hardi wants to be able to invite farmers to live a more prosperous life.
“How can partner farmers produce good guava? Their guava can bear fruit at the age of 1.5 years. Farmers previously thought they would harvest one to two times a year. In practice, they could harvest once a week. That is, farmers don\'t have to wait too long to feed their family [from a harvest]. We also have to think about how the price of fruit does not drop during the harvest," he said.
Although the market price of crystal guava varies – some sell at lower prices – Hardi still insists on selling guava at the price of Rp 15,000 per kilogram. The reason is that there are stories behind each fruit of guava planted, such as the procedures for farming as well as the hard work of the farmer himself.
In terms of management, Hardi divides his business into off-farm and on-farm duties. He assigned 17 employees in their respective fields, ranging from digital marketing and quality control to distribution. Those who like farming and direct contact with the field are also given opportunities.
“Why are farmers\' crops difficult to get into modern retail? Because they are not managed. So it\'s not just quality. I do all those processes. The essence of modern agriculture is not only cultivating the land, but also cultivating the digital sphere. [Developing] millennial farmers is the target and what they do is clear," he said.
This method of farming distinguishes modern agriculture from traditional forms. Hardi calls modern farmers millennial farmers because they do not only adopt conventional farming methods, but they also combine them with new methods in preparing the land for the post-harvest time period.
Therefore, Hardi wants to be able to train millennial farmers in the future. Every month, there are dozens of vocational students and students who take part in field work in their gardens, including those from abroad.
“Even though it\'s only a small dream, we want to realize it. Millennial farmer is just a term, but what we need to understand from modern agriculture is how to develop all processes in a way that make them valuable and interesting,” said Hardi.
Rakhmad Hardiyanto
Born: Malang, Sept. 29, 1984 Wife: Reisha Zuhriana
Child:
- Aqila Anindya Tasya
- Arsyila Amelia Rasya Education:
- SMAN 01 Batu
- Machine engineering, Brawijaya University
Award: One of 28 Indonesian Young Agropreneurs by Trubus (2017)
