Members of Fairventures Worldwide (FVW) team meet with cacao farmers in Puruk Cahu, Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan, Friday (3/5/19).
In the midst of difficulties in accessing the domestic market, chocolate products produced by cacao farmers in Central Kalimantan have started to penetrate markets in Europe.
PALANGKARAYA, KOMPAS — Chocolate production in Central Kalimantan has begun to attract the attention of countries in Europe. Chocolate from Gunung Mas and Murung Raya regency, Central Kalimantan, has managed to enter Germany. The results are satisfying, with 1,000 chocolate bars sold out. Nevertheless, access to the local market in Central Kalimantan is still limited and constrained by infrastructure.
In Tumbang Talaken village, Gunung Mas regency, cocoa farmers are included in a program to plant 1 million tree seedlings by German institutions in Indonesia, Fairvent Worldwide (FVW) and local Borneo Institute (BIT). In the program, farmers are taught how to cultivate cacao.
Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP) from FVW institution program manager Benjamin Schwegler disclosed that his side accompanied cacao farmers in two regencies, namely Murung Raya and Gunung Mas. They also fermented cocoa beans and brought the fermented produce to one of the premium chocolate producers in Europe, Schell Schokoladen.
"That is a form of assistance to enable farmers to learn about the post-harvest process. The fermentation leads to the production of 1,000 bars of chocolate at the initial level and all of them are sold out," Schwegler said in Palangkaraya on Sunday (05/12/2019).
Organic
Schwegler further said that chocolate consumers in Europe had become curious about the chocolate from Kalimantan forests cultivated in a 100-percent organic way without chemicals.
"They tasted it and the results were very encouraging," he said.
Cocoa development in Central Kalimantan, Schwegler added, began with the training of farmers in Gunung Mas in April. After that, his party invited special trainers from Europe so that farmers could learn how to handle the post-harvest chocolate process.
"We hope that farmers fully understand the cocoa value chain, from cultivation, harvest and post-harvest, to market opportunities. They have become increasingly involved ," he said.
Constrained access
Even though their chocolate has reached Europe, farmers in Gunung Mas and Puruk Cahu regencies still hope that their cocoa will also continue to be developed for the needs of the local market in Central Kalimantan and in the country. Until now, access to the local market is still limited and constrained by infrastructure.
Kader, 82, a cacao farmer from Murung Raya, said a trip from his village to Puruk Cahu, the capital city
of Murung Raya, took six hours. The trip cannot be made using an ordinary vehicle because there are still many roads that are not asphalted and full of mud.
Rather than facing the difficulties of selling cocoa to the city, some of the farmers are forced to sell it cheaply to middlemen who come to the villages. "We are just waiting for the middleman to come here. The produce is also bought at low prices. If we bring the produce directly, the cost will also be too large," said Kader.
According to Kader, among the middlemen, the price of chocolate reaches only Rp 15,000 per kilogram. In fact, in Puruk Cahu, the price of chocolate already reaches Rp 30,000 to Rp 40,000 per kilogram, depending on the season. During the harvest period, the price is lower. There is only one shop in Puruk Cahu that is willing to buy the chocolate.
"We are grateful that there are brokers here. Without them, where could we sell the chocolate?" said Kader.
FAIRVENTURES WORLDWIDE
Fairventures Worldwide (FVW) representive in Indonesia, Panduh Tukat, shows fermented cocoa from Central Kalimantan to be sent to Germany on Friday (5/3/2019).
Coffee and cacao plantation
This year, the Central Kalimantan provincial government has prepared 200 hectares specifically for coffee and cacao plantations. Its development uses the social forestry through a community forestry scheme.
The 200 ha is divided into several regions, including in Gunung Mas, Seruyan, Kapuas, and North Barito regencies. The distribution is through farmer groups and each group gets 1 ha.
In early April, the Central Kalimantan plantation office also distributed 2,100 coffee seeds and 1,200 cacao seedlings in the area.
"This is only the initial stage, maybe other regions will receive allocations next," said the head of the Central Kalimantan Plantation Agency, Rawing Rambang.(IDO)
