Ani, high-yield tomato pioneer

Ridlo Aryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Oct. 23, 2001 marked the most memorable day in the life of Ani Andayani, a biotechnological researcher with the Yogyakarta provincial agriculture office.

On that day, President Megawati, moments after opening the International Conference on Indonesian Biotechnology in Yogyakarta, dropped by at the stand exhibiting hybrid tomatoes that Ani had invented.

For over two minutes, the President observed a large round and appetizingly orange tomato and asked Ani about it, who was in charge of the stand herself.

"What tomato is this, mbak (sister)?" Megawati asked.

"A hybrid tomato. My own invention. As it has no name yet, I would greatly appreciate it if you could give it a name," Ani replied.

"Hmm, I've got to think about it first. By the way, what are the names of our other superior tomatoes?"

"Intan (diamond) and Berlian (polished diamond)," Ani replied.

"Why are the names very ordinary, without any Indonesian characteristics?" the President asked again, leaving the stand, apparently having no name ready for this superior tomato.

However, barely had she taken four steps when she returned to the stand and suddenly said, "Dara Jingga (Orange Maiden), yes, Dara Jingga, that's the name," she said, immediately writing the name on a piece of paper.

A month later Ani registered her invention at the patent directorate of the ministry of justice and human rights. Unfortunately, the registration was not exactly plain sailing.

"I will have to wait for about 1.5 years before the patent is issued. I cannot just sit still in the meantime as I've got to realize my great dream of making available high-yielding and cheap tomato seedlings to our tomato growers," said Ani, a mother of two born in Cirebon, West Java, on Aug. 20, 1958.

Indonesian agricultural experts have carried out a lot of research but unfortunately only a few of their results can be applied on the ground.

"One of the constraints is that, generally, farmers find it difficult to understand a scientific discovery and therefore cannot apply it to their daily activities. As our farmers can implement only a few scientific discoveries, they are usually left behind by their counterparts from other countries when talking about the quality of agricultural products," said Ani, who holds a doctorate in agriculture from Japan's Nihon University.

In fact, she went on, the main reason why Indonesia lags behind in agricultural production is not merely the technology but also the availability of high-yielding seedlings.

"We are rich in biodiversity, which may become a source for high-yielding seedlings, but it is a fact that 90 percent of our demand for high-yielding seedlings is met through imports. Obviously, the price is high. To ensure that planting will continue, our farmers use seedlings taken from plants, the seedlings of which are imported. The longer this practice continues, the quality of the seedlings decreases continuously," said Ani, who is also a lecturer at the postgraduate program for agronomy at Gadjah Mada University.

Ani's worry about the availability of high-yielding seedlings that farmers would find affordable has worried her since she graduated from Bogor Institute of Agriculture in 1982.

"Other countries can solve this problem, why can't we? If we persist in our learning, there must be a solution," she said.

She found the solution in Japan when the ministry of agriculture sent her to a workshop on vegetable seed production in Tsukuba, an event sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The instructor in this workshop, Senohara of Chiba University, an expert in the production of tomato seedlings, recommended that Ani pursue further studies at Chiba to get her master's degree in agriculture. In 1995 Ani completed her studies for a master's degree.

"Since then, I have had a strong urge to further study seedling technology because I want to be able to produce high- yielding seedlings myself."

In 1998, Ani began her long journey into how to produce high- yielding seedlings by herself, from seedless watermelon to Dara Jingga tomatoes. "Dara Jingga (Lycopercycum esculentum. L) is a fleshy, juicy and sweet superior tomato. While other superior tomatoes can produce only 20 tons of tomatoes per hectare, Dara Jingga can yield 150. Compared with other superior tomatoes, Dara Jingga can produce the largest tomatoes, as each can weigh up to 100 grams.

Unfortunately, the result of a multi-location test of this hybrid tomato recommends that it be planted in areas higher than 400 m above sea level. Beneath this level, the harvest is still disappointing," Ani said.

Last May, in cooperation with Sleman regency administration and PT Tripilar, Ani began to harvest 2.5 hectares of her tomato plants, from a total of 6 hectares of greenhouse land in Pakembinangun village, Sleman.

"I'm quite satisfied with the yield of this maiden harvest. For the time being, though, the entire harvest is designated for seedlings. At least, our production will help reduce seedling imports in the future. I have great hopes that the government and private sector will be ready to lend a hand on a larger scale. We need huge funds and the ministry of agriculture cannot afford to finance the project single-handedly," she said.

Ani is still nurturing another ambition. "I was thinking of developing new Dara Jingga which would grow well in both the wet and dry seasons so that tomato growers could grow tomatoes at any time. If supplies of tomatoes in the market were thin but tomato growers could continue growing high-yielding tomatoes, the price would be high."

The classic problem is, of course, funds. Ani is quite optimistic that if the project gets sponsors, Indonesia would eventually be able to compete in the world's high-yielding seedling industries.

It is true that revolving funds in the seedling business take quite a while, which may explain why investors are not keen on investing in this area. However, the superior tomato seedlings have a high multiplier effect.

"Tomatoes can make juice, sauce, condiments with chili peppers or be eaten raw. I'm optimistic that the revolving funds will be more promising. If we do not act right now, when else will we be able to catch up with Japan, which is dozens of years ahead of Indonesia in this area?" she said.

Anybody interested in lending a hand?