Slowly, Maria Tulia lifts a 30-centimetre wooden stick, two\ncentimetres in diameter. She strikes the skin of the cocoa fruit piled\nin her harvest container.<\/p>\n
For cocoa farmers in Nekan Hamlet, Sanggau, West Kalimantan, each\nstrike to break the fruit is an effort to secure a livelihood from the\nplantation she has tended for years. The split skins reveal wet cocoa\nbeans, ready to be separated and sold to a cooperative.<\/p>\n
In this border region between Indonesia and Malaysia, this activity\nholds new hope. Cocoa is no longer just a shade plant in the backyard,\nbut is beginning to become a promising economic mainstay.<\/p>\n
Maria has been cultivating cocoa for about eight years. On a\none-hectare plot, approximately 200 cocoa trees now grow. She has even\nbegun expanding her plantation with an additional half-hectare of land.\nThe ideal planting distance of about four metres between trees provides\nenough space for the plants to grow lushly and bear heavy fruit.<\/p>\n
However, this journey has not always been smooth. Cocoa plants\nrequire consistent care. Fungal attacks and leaf drop are serious\nthreats that can kill the plants if not handled correctly. For Maria, a\ndeep understanding of cultivation techniques is key to keeping her\nplantation productive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge lies in the maintenance. Fungi can cause leaves to\ndrop and even kill the plants, so that must be controlled. We greatly\nneed good cultivation knowledge so that the results can be maximised,\u201d\nshe said.<\/p>\n
In a single harvest, Maria\u2019s plantation can produce about 40\nkilograms of wet cocoa beans. With a harvest frequency of twice a month\nand prices ranging from Rp15,000 to Rp20,000 per kilogram, the results\nare quite decent.<\/p>\n
That figure might seem simple. However, for Maria, cocoa has become a\nvaluable alternative income amidst the residents\u2019 dependence on other\ncommodities, particularly rubber.<\/p>\n
Previously, rubber was the economic backbone for local farmers. When\ncocoa began to be introduced about eight years ago, not many took\ninterest. Farmers planted haphazardly without adequate knowledge,\ncompounded by plummeting prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, we just planted randomly and the prices were low. Even\nafter being dried, they were only valued at around Rp19,000 per\nkilogram,\u201d Maria recalled.<\/p>\n
The situation is gradually improving thanks to assistance and\nimprovements in the marketing chain. The presence of Kalara Borneo,\nalongside partner cooperatives, provides market certainty while boosting\nselling prices. Now, dried cocoa beans from farmers can even be valued\nat up to Rp60,000 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
Maria and other farmers now prefer to sell wet cocoa beans because it\nis much more practical. After harvesting, they simply break the fruit\nand collect the beans to be deposited to the cooperative. Complex\nprocesses such as fermentation and drying are handled entirely by the\ncooperative.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously, we did everything ourselves, but the price remained low.\nNow, we just harvest, break, and sell. The Kalara Borneo partner\ncooperative handles the fermentation process,\u201d Maria said.<\/p>\n
For Maria, this change is not just about the monetary value. Market\ncertainty provides the motivation for farmers to diligently care for and\nexpand their plantations. She hopes cocoa prices will continue to be\nstable and improve so that more residents are encouraged to engage in\nthis business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hope is that prices remain good and stable. Now, most residents\nare already planting cocoa. This is a new hope to increase income\nalongside rubber,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Maria\u2019s story is just a small part of the larger effort to build a\ncocoa ecosystem in West Kalimantan. Behind the lushness of the farmers\u2019\nplantations, there is a long process to ensure local cocoa beans can\nmeet market standards. One of the drivers behind this effort is Kalara\nBorneo.<\/p>\n
The owner of Kalara Borneo, Yohana Tamara, revealed that the\ndevelopment of cocoa was officially pioneered by her company since 2021.\nHowever, her interest in this commodity has grown since 2018 when she\nwas stationed in Sintang Regency.<\/p>\n
At that time, she found that the majority of residents\u2019 plantations\nstill relied on a monoculture system. Dependence on a single type of\ncrop makes the farmers\u2019 economy very vulnerable when commodity prices\nplummet. This condition prompted her to seek a solution through crop\ndiversification.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, why do we always rely on monoculture plantations? Once\nthe price of the main commodity falls, farmers are immediately affected.\nFrom there, the thought arose: why not try crop diversification?\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A turning point in this journey occurred when Yohana attended a\nconference in the Philippines in 2018. Her perspective opened up when\nshe learned about cocoa development methods based on agroforestry. The\nconcept of integrated land use is what inspired her to cultivate cocoa\nin West Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Currently, Kalara Borneo\u2019s cocoa development has reached several\nareas, including Kapuas Hulu, Sintang, and most recently Sanggau. The\nmodel applied no longer leaves farmers to struggle alone with production\nand marketing issues.<\/p>\n
Farmers receive intensive assistance to implement Good Agricultural\nPractices (GAP). After harvest, wet cocoa beans are sold to the\ncooperative to undergo post-harvest processes, including fermentation\nand drying. Once transformed into high-quality dried beans, Kalara\nBorneo purchases them to be processed and marketed to the downstream\nsector.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ecosystem has indeed been formed. Farmers sell wet beans to the\ncooperative, then the cooperative manages the post-harvesting. Once\ndried, they are then sold to Kalara Borneo,\u201d Yohana explained.<\/p>\n
According to her, this scheme provides two vital guarantees for\nfarmers: market certainty and price stability. Currently, there are\nthree cooperatives overseeing approximately 162 farmers within the\necosystem. In Sanggau alone, 45 farmers have joined the programme.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cocoa-sows-new-hope-on-the-nations-frontier-through-agroforestry-1789912754", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }