Outreach Development of Indonesia’s Outlying Areas

MAKING FARMING COOL

FOR YOUNG FARMERS
AS an agrarian country, Indonesia is faced with a rather ironic predicament: more and more people have shied away from
agriculture, mainly because of the stigma that farmers are a poverty-ridden segment. According to the Central Statistics Agen-
cy (BPS), in 2013, 60.8 percent of farmers were above the age of 45. Amid this crisis, some young people have made the deliber-
PRIVATE DOC.

ate choice to farm, and are even leading farmers’ groups. Among them are I Gede Artha Sudiarsana, who grows oyster mush-
rooms in Karangasem, Bali, and Maya Stolastika, who runs an organic farm in Mojokerto, East Java. Tempo English reports.

MAY 13, 2018 | | 41

 Outreach
FROM SAWDUST
TO MUSHROOMS
Young farmer I Gede Artha Sudiarsana now leads Pidpid
village’s oyster mushroom industry. Dozens of farmers in the
Balinese village have been recruited.
F
ARMING was never part of
I Made Edi Sarsana’s plan.
The 21-year-old from Pidpid
village in Karangasem stud-
ied accounting at Ganesha
University of Education in Denpasar,
Bali’s capital. His dream was to work for
a private company in a big city.
But his part-time work cultivating
oyster mushrooms as a student led him
to a change of heart. As it turned out, his
earnings managed to cover his tuition
fee. “It made me want to continue grow-
42 | | MAY 13, 2018
ing mushrooms in the village,” said Edi.
Edi had begun to enjoy the results of
his mushroom venture after he joined
the Pertiwi Mesani group in his vil-
lage, initiated by I Gede Artha Suarsa-
na. In 2016, Gede Artha invited Edi to
grow mushrooms with the group. Edi,
enticed by Gede’s success, tried his hand
at mushroom cultivation. Two years lat-
er, he was able to enjoy the fruits of his
labor, despite certain challenges. One
was when Mount Agung continued to
erupt, for example, when Edi had to
2
3
leave his mushroom farm behind for
two months.
When Mount Agung’s activity spiked,
Pidpid residents, Edi included, had to
evacuate and stay in a camp for refu-
gees. His mushroom farm was left unat-
tended. But Edi was lucky. “We were able
to salvage a good amount of mushrooms
and managed to have a harvest upon re-

1. Gede Artha (right) and his log bags for
growing oyster mushrooms.
2. The kumbung, a warehouse to store
the mushrooms.
3. Nyang Luh, the mushroom chips, has
six flavors.
turning from the shelter,” he said.
Today, Edi harvests seven kilograms
of oyster mushrooms per day, which
he sells for Rp20,000 per kilogram.
Apart from a group warehouse, Edi also
PHOTO: TEMPO/PRIVATE DOC.
manages his own warehouse, which
can store up to 5,000 log bags of mush-
rooms. His income frequently reaches
Rp140,000 per day. “Oyster mushrooms
are always sold out since the demand is
quite high in Bali.”
nnn
PIDPID village lies on the slope of
Mount Agung. Most of the village’s res-
idents plant banana, papaya, and coco-
nut, while others breed cattle, are farm-
ers, or make furniture. The village’s
home furniture industry produces 15
tons of sawdust every day.
Gede Artha saw great potential for the
waste, as sawdust can be used as the pri-
mary component for log bags, the type of
medium used for growing mushrooms,
apart from the mixture of ricebran and
cornstarch. In 2015, Gede Artha decid-
ed to cultivate oyster mushrooms.
He saw the potential for oyster mush-
rooms after participating in a three-day
internship program at Bali’s agriculture
office as a second-semester agriculture
student at Udayana University. During
the internship, Gede Artha learned how
to grow mushrooms and make log bags
from sawdust. “This whole time people
were only using furniture byproducts
for cooking,” he said.
Gede Artha started his business with
Rp10 million, money from a scholarship
given to pay for his first four semesters
at the university. Gede Artha used the
money to buy 1,500 mushroom log bags
and made a kumbung, a warehouse to
store and grow mushrooms.
Around one and a half months later,
he was ready to harvest his mushrooms.
“I was so excited that I forgot to consider
marketing,” he said.
He offered his first mushrooms to
restaurants and vendors at traditional
markets, but not even half of the 10 ki-
lograms of mushrooms sold. His big-
gest problem was oyster mushrooms’
short shelf life. This meant Gede Artha’s
mushrooms had to be sold the same day
they were harvested. “I didn’t know
what to do and almost gave up,” he said.
Gede Artha suspected his product
was unpopular because the people of
Karangasem were unaccustomed to
seeing mushrooms as a commodity.
Plus, it is quite easy for locals to gather
mushrooms on their land during the
wet season. But Gede Artha refused to
quit. He rode his motorcycle to Denpas-
ar and found that his mushrooms were
able to sell well among the city’s vegeta-
ble vendors.
More positive results followed, and
occasionally, some challenges. He be-
gan improving his business one step at
a time. After managing his kumbung
for one year, he invited his neighbors
to join him as partners. Two years ago,
he recruited 27 Pidpid residents, most-
ly young people, to join his group, Perti-
wi Mesari—literally meaning “the land
that grows good things.”
It was easy enough to inspire other
villagers to grow mushrooms, he said,
because he had already proven how
profitable the business was.
Gede Artha is very pleased with the
how the number of Pidpid residents
who have joined his group has grown.
His current hope is for the business to
yield positive impacts for the village by
getting residents, particularly young-
sters and also women, to become inter-
ested in farming. So far, most of his vil-
MAY 13, 2018 | | 43
 Outreach
lage’s youths have preferred to work for
private companies in the city.
His hard work finally received recog-
nition. In late 2016, he was chosen as one
of the young farmers’ ambassador fi-
nalists by Oxfam Indonesia.
Despite his significant achievement,
Gede Artha has kept his humility and
has worked even harder with his col-
leagues. In addition to working side by
side in the production process, Pertiwi
Mesari members have continued to ex-
pand their market. Apart from Denpas-
ar, their oyster mushrooms are also of-
fered to vendors at the Karangasem
Market. “We’re still learning,” he said.
The group has managed to increase
their production capacity to 3,000
log bags, using shared capital. These
log bags can be used up to four or five
months, to produce half a kilogram of
mushrooms each. Gede Artha and his
colleagues also opened more kumbung
for storing their mushrooms, which
they are now calling the “Gede Jamur.”
Gede Artha says members of his group
are now learning how to make their
lown log bags so they can save Rp500 for
OUTREACH TEAM
Project Coordinator: Isma Savitri Editor: Purwani Diyah Prabandari Writers: Ahmad Rafiq, Pito Agustin Rudiana
Photo Researcher: Agung Chandra Design & Layout: Ahmad Fatoni
44 | | MAY 13, 2018
each. But the process has been challeng-
ing. Log bags are often contaminated
with bacteria because farmers tend to
make them without regard to sterility,
or the log bags enter the warehouse un-
der non-sterile conditions. “Most of our
farmers go to the warehouse after they
return from the field,” said Gede Artha.
Gede’s team are now learning not
only to manage their kumbung, but also
to maintain cleanliness. Trash must
be kept away from their environment.
Group members are also learning how
to solve certain farming problems, in-
cluding preventing and overcoming
plant diseases.
To boost production, Pertiwi Mesa-
ri members learn together and share
knowledge to improve their bargain-
ing position, avoid middlemen and
strengthen their marketing network.
The cooperation and hard work have
produced a revenue of millions of ru-
piah per month.
The group’s revenue improved after
business was expanded to post-harvest
processing in September of 2017. Under
the brand “Nyang-Luh,” Pidpid’s mush-
The members of Gede Jamur.
room farmers now offer mushroom
chips packaged in paper bags. “We’re
still new in the chips business, but we al-
ready have five flavors,” said Gede.
Their flavors are original, balado
(spicy), seaweed, roasted corn and fried
noodle. Nyang-Luh, made without pre-
servatives, is marketed through social
media, via Facebook and Instagram.
nnn
GEDE Artha may claim his group is
still in the proces of learning, but buyers
have praised the quality of their prod-
ucts. Putu Gunawan, a mushroom sell-
er in Karangasem, says he used to sell
mushrooms grown in Bangli, known
as one of Bali’s major mushroom-pro-
ducing regions. But last year, Putu made
the switch to Pertiwi Mesari’s mush-
rooms. “[Their mushrooms] are cheap-
er, since they’re grown closer to where I
live,” he said. Additionally, he feels that
Pidpid’s mushrooms are of better quali-
ty because the region is better-suited for
growing mushrooms.
Putu usually buys mushrooms pre-
harvest or with their log bags. He hand-
picks the mushrooms before they are
sold. He says the method is safer, plus he
need not worry about his mushrooms
wilting too soon. Each month, Putu or-
ders 500 log bags of mushrooms.
These mushrooms are sold to dozens
of resellers instead of directly to end
consumers. Despite the long distribu-
tion chain, Putu claims that mushroom
prices are still competitive. He is now
planning to further expand his business
by processing Pertiwi Mesari’s products
for added value. “I want to make snacks
[from the mushrooms],” he said.
Pidpid village’s mushroom farm-
ers, I Made Edi Sarsana included, are of
course happy to see the growing num-
ber of mushroom distributors. Because
of Putu and other mushroom traders,
they no longer need to worry about mar-
keting. “The only thing we need to focus
PHOTOS: PRIVATE DOC.
on is improving our yield,” Edi said.
Edi’s village has evidently gained
some popularity as an oyster mush-
room producer. n
BACKYARD ORGANIC FARMING
Maya Stolastika and Herwita Rosalina are training young
communities to take up organic farming. They also invite young
farmers to work together.
F
OR the past several decades,
not many seem to aspire to be-
come farmers. Unsurprising-
ly, Anton Sujarwo’s parents
objected when their son ex-
pressed his desire to farm, as they them-
selves were all too familiar with the hard
labor that farming involves. “My parents
wanted me to become a contractor,” said
the man from the Balongsari village in
East Java.
Though Anton studies civil engi-
neering at the Gadjah Mada Universi-
ty in Yogyakarta, he is more interest-
ed in agriculture. In July 2017, he even
founded Barisan Anak Muda Balongsa-
ri (Baramuba), a community for Balong-
sari youths passionate about improving
agriculture in their village.
According to the 20-year-old, he
formed Baramuba after noticing that
many farmers in various regions were
complaining about their reliance on
government-subsidized chemical fer-
tilizer. With this observation, he saw
a window of opportunity for organic
farming. Apart from the environmen-
tal value of organic farming, organic
produce also fetches higher prices.
In 2017, five Balongsari youths joined
the community. The number has now
grown to 13. Two of the initial five have
an agricultural science background.
But because they had limited land, the
group ended up using their own house
yards. “It was better to benefit from our
yards rather than leaving them covered
in weeds,” said Anton.
Baramuba members learned the ba-
sics of organic farming and its manage-
ment from Twelve’s Organic. The found-
er is Maya Stolastika, whom they stum-
bled across through Facebook. “We
learned about agricultural manage-
ment and distribution, also profit man-
agement from Twelve’s Organic,” said
another Baramuba member, Ulin Nik-
matur Rosyidah.
Maya founded Twelve’s Organic with
her university friend, Herwita Rosa-
lina, in early 2012. Because of Maya’s
work, she was selected as one of the 10
finalists in Oxfam Indonesia’s Young
Agripreneurs Ambassadors held at the
end of 2016. During the selection process
in Bogor, West Java, Maya was trained in
agribusiness management.
This experience inspired Maya to
share her knowledge with other youths.
She wanted more younger people to opt
for farming as a profession and to be in
command of managing environmen-
tally friendly agriculture. The 33-year-
woman then enlisted in more train-
ing programs. So far, two young farm-
er communities are affiliated with
Twelve’s Organic. These communities
have five to 15 members, all of whom
are still in high school and university.
Because Maya wishes to only train
youths who are already committed to
organic farming, both communities
were chosen to train under and work
with her organization after a selection
process. “I don’t want my work train-
ing young farmers to be in vain,” said
Maya, who was appointed by President
Joko Widodo as a coordinator for the In-
donesian Organic Alliance for the 2017-
2020 period.
The two selected communities then
received training on organization,
management, marketing as well as or-
ganic farming techniques. Training
sessions were held on a farm on a flex-
ible schedule to accommodate those in-
volved. So far, Twelve’s Organic has giv-
Youngster discuss the merits of organic
farming in Mojokerto, East Java.
MAY 13, 2018 | | 45
 Outreach
en Baramuba four training sessions.
Like Anton, Maya had no formal edu-
cation in agriculture nor agribusiness.
She studied English at the Surabaya
State University. Furthermore, she used
to dislike eating vegetables.
In 2007, while still a university stu-
dent, Maya and two friends signed
up for a yoga session in Bedugul, Bali.
There, Maya met yoga guru Murti Tung-
gal Tjandra, a vegan. Murti offered
them a glass of odorless carrot juice that
tasted oddly sweet. “Before (tasting the
juice), I had goosebumps just imagin-
ing the weird taste of carrot,” said Maya.
But besides the carrot juice, the other
vegetables offered to her by Murti tast-
ed fresh and sweet.
Murti informed the group that the
vegetables were farmed organically.
Maya had plenty to learn from her yoga
teacher during her two-week stay in Be-
dugul. Murti posed the group a chal-
lenge that inspired Maya to delve deep-
er into agriculture. “What have you
done as a university student for your en-
vironment, especially for your immedi-
ate environment?”
In 2008, Maya pioneered the organic
agribusiness Kembang Organic Farm
along with four peers. The group began
their venture in Claket, Mojokerto, East
46 | | MAY 13, 2018
Herwita posing on her lollo rossa lettuce
farm in Mojokerto.
Maya Stolastika (left) with Herwita
Java, because the village already had
two farmer groups under the guidance
of nuns at the Karmel Convent not far
from Maya’s home in Trawas, East Java.
In Claket, Maya and friends cultivat-
ed half a hectare of land they had rent-
ed for one year. The very first vegeta-
ble they planted was mustard, which
was harvested every 25 days. The five
chipped in to raise Rp2.5-million cap-
ital, and they took turns covering the
weekly Rp300,000 operational costs. Be-
cause they were still full-time students,
Maya and her chums could only go to
Claket on weekends.
When harvest time came, they had
close to one ton of produce to sell, but had
no clue where to sell it. The supermarket
they went to refused their wares. “(And
as you know) vegetables go bad fast,”
said Maya. Finally, they sold their pro-
duce to traditional markets. Still, they
did not earn much and only managed to
accumulate Rp5 million in debt.
Because of the setback, three Kem-
bang Organic Farm members instead
opted to withdraw, leaving Maya and
Herwita Rosalina. The two friends end-
ed up having to work very hard. A pro-
posal they made was finally approved
by the very supermarket that had once
rejected them. Eventually, the same su-
permarket even asked them to deliv-
er their organic mustard and spinach
twice weekly. Women homemakers,
too, began to order vegetables from the
two, paving the way for direct market-
ing to households.
Once their business solidified, both
decided to move to Bali and work with
a company that manufactured envi-
ronmentally friendly construction
materials. They handed over their ven-
ture in Claket to farmers who, unfor-
tunately, had no market access. “Sad-
ly, the business didn’t last long,” said
Maya. Eventually, Maya and Herwita
left their jobs in Bali and returned to
Claket to form Twelve’s Organic.
In 2012, the duo explored another vil-
lage. In Trawas, they borrowed farm-
ers’ land under a profit-sharing model.
Said Herwita, the agreement wasn’t ef-
fective as landowners did not under-
stand organic farming and only ex-
pected profits. The profit-sharing mo-
del was abandoned. Maya and Herwi-
ta now prefer to create partnerships
with young farmers. Twelve’s Organ-
ic has continued to expand and are now
in Malang, said Maya. Their consumer
base has grown more diverse, to include
50 home industries aparts from house-
holds and supermarkets.
Each Twelve’s Organic estates pro-
duces 200-300 kilograms of vegetables
per month at an average selling price of
Rp40,000-80,000 per kilogram. The out-
put is combined with affiliated young
farmers’ harvests.
Baramuba members have also enjoyed
Twelve’s Organic’s growing success. Now,
the group earns Rp500,000 in profit per
harvest. The “Balongsari” in Baramuba
has been changed into bahagia, meaning
“happy.” “We want the business to make
young people happy,” said Ulin Nikma-
PHOTOS: PRIVATE DOC.
tur.
Now, says Herwita, Twelve’s Organic
plans to build a special organic farming
school for young farmers. n