Program turns farmhands into farmers<\/p>\n
Budi Santoso, Antara, Cirebon, West Java<\/p>\n
The young men of Blok Maja, Jatimerta in North Cirebon have gone
\nthrough a remarkable change: from spending their days bored and
\ntheir nights fighting with youths from neighboring villagers to
\nbecoming hard-working and successful.<\/p>\n
The fights were usually over who ruled the crowded parking lot
\nat the sacred Sunan Gunung Jati tomb.<\/p>\n
Now, the youths of the two villages get along just fine and
\neven play on the same soccer field in Jatimerta, located next to
\na cattle farm, which employs at least 80 workers -- from grass
\ncollectors and stall cleaners to security guards.<\/p>\n
Street lights illuminate the village road at night, financed
\nentirely by the group at a cost of Rp 5 million (US$500). Farmers
\ncan now set aside Rp 5,000 from the sale of each cow for the
\nvillage coffers, which amounted to Rp 500,000 last year.<\/p>\n
The changes were brought about with the assistance -- in the
\nform of 36 cows -- of the Cirebon regental administration in 2003
\nfor residents of Blok Maja. There are now 43 cattle farmers a
\nremarkable increase from the previous figure of 18.<\/p>\n
The cattle breeding venture, called the Pangguyangan Cattle
\nFarmers Group, has flourished and the group recently won first
\nplace in West Java province's livestock competition.<\/p>\n
The group's leader, Danusi, said many of the farmers had
\npreviously been farm hands or sheep herders in the village, and
\nthey were already familiar with raising livestock.<\/p>\n
\"In 2003, the sheep breeders' group won third prize in the
\nprovincial level competition, and gained first prize the
\nfollowing year. That spurred them on to success,\" Danusi said.<\/p>\n
Edi said the promising business had made farm hands into
\nfarmers. Many had been able to purchase cars thanks to their
\nachievements.<\/p>\n
He said the Cirebon Livestock Office had even considered
\nsetting up a cattle breeding program as West Java had long
\nbrought in calves from other regions. As livestock breeding was
\ntime-consuming, farmers had opted for fattening the animals
\ninstead.<\/p>\n
\"A cow is fattened until six months, when it reaches a weight
\nof anywhere from 120 kilograms to 150 kg. Farmers can then reap a
\nprofit of between Rp 2 million to Rp 2.5 million per cow,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Walim, a 55-year-old cattle farmer who owns eight cows, said
\nthe business had changed his life. From his humble beginnings as
\na farm hand he now has millions of rupiah in working capital.<\/p>\n
\"When I was still a worker, I earned barely enough to live on.
\nHaving millions of rupiah in cash was just a dream, but now it's
\na normal thing for me to have that much money at my disposal,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the guidance and market access provided by the local
\nlivestock office, farmers can now pick calves from Central and
\nEast Java.<\/p>\n
\"Nearly all butchers in Cirebon get their beef from here,
\nbecause we feed the cattle only with grass, which makes the
\nquality of the meat better,\" said Saminggu, who handles marketing
\nfor the farmers' group.<\/p>\n
Grass -- both wild and cultivated -- is abundant in the 10-
\nhectare area where most of the cattle feed.<\/p>\n
They are now looking forward to partnering with investors on a
\nprofit sharing basis of 40 percent for the investor and 60
\npercent for the farmer.<\/p>\n
\"There was once an investor who came here and was appreciative
\nof the system, but he never returned, although the business
\npotential here is still very good,\" Saminggu said.<\/p>\n
The head of the livestock development department of the West
\nJava Livestock Office, Koesmayadi, said one factor that had led
\nto the farmers' success was their selectiveness, in terms of
\nchoosing cattle for breeding.<\/p>\n
\"They are highly motivated, because they know what poverty is
\nlike. From the moment the local administration provided
\nassistance, they seized the opportunity,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/program-turns-farmhands-into-farmers-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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