Dragon fruits offer bright prospects to Kulonprogo farmers

Dragon fruits offer bright prospects to Kulonprogo farmers

JP/17/DRAGON

Dragon fruit offers bright prospects to Kulonprogo farmers

Slamet Susanto The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

The term "dragon fruit" (Hylocereus undatus), or buah naga as it is known locally, probably still sounds strange to many Indonesian ears.

Yet, those who know exactly their health benefits and can afford to buy them, too, will not hesitate to seek them out, which explains why demand for this particular commodity is on the increase.

To meet the demand, however, mostly Thai and Malaysian dragon fruit has been imported into the domestic market.

A report says some 200 tons to 400 tons of imported dragon fruit is sold here annually.

Tempted by such good prospects, in August 2004 the regental administration of Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta province, in cooperation with Surabaya-based PT Jala Sutra Nusantara, made available a three-hectare pilot plot for dragon fruit production in Kalibawang subdistrict.

Earlier this month, the first harvest of the Rp 400 million plantation was made, resulting in some two tons of fruit.

"We hope local farmers will be interested in planting the fruit if this pilot project is successful," head of the regency horticultural office Langgeng Basuki told The Jakarta Post.

For the pilot project the local government has employed local farmers in the hope that they will later be able to plant the fruit themselves. The local government will continue to give them assistance with seedlings, processing and, most important of all, marketing the commodity.

By way of preparation, said Basuki, his office had developed a self-seedling initiative from the plantation. Next month, he said, his office would make available some 4,000 ready-to-plant dragon fruit seedlings.

"The seedlings will be provided for farmers in coastal parts of Kulonprogo. Each family will get 80 seedlings and will be required to give back to the office the same amount of seedlings when their plantation is already developed, for further distribution to other farmers," said Basuki, adding that was the way the item would be propagated within the regency.

In theory, the regency's coastal areas, with their sandy soils, are very suitable for planting dragon fruit, which is from the same species as the cactus.

Four dragon fruit types are known to exist. They are: white- fleshed (Hylocereus undatus), red-fleshed (Hylocereus polyrhizus), super red-fleshed (Hylocereus costaricensis) and yellow-skinned, white-fleshed dragon fruit (Selenicerius megalanthus).

However, only the white-fleshed variety is currently under cultivation in Kulonprogo.

When they start to produce fruit dragon fruit plants can be harvested three times a year. The plant usually needs about six months to yield its first harvest.

Once it is planted and starts producing fruit it can last for up to 20 years: In other words, farmers need only plant them once every 20 years. A hectare of land, according to Basuki, can accommodate some 6,400 dragon fruit plants.

As far as marketing is concerned, farmers need not worry too much, as the fruit is still in high demand. Besides, Basuki says, partner company PT Jala Sutra Nusantara has also expressed a commitment to buy all the fruit produced, no matter how much.

Dragon fruit is currently categorized as expensive, meaning it appeals to the top end of the market. Dragon fruit weighing less than half a kilogram, for example, are currently sold at Rp 5,000 per kilogram.

Those weighing between half a kilogram to 0.7 kg are sold at Rp 10,000 per kilogram while those weighing over 0.7 kg are sold at Rp 15,000 per kilogram.

In supermarkets, the price is usually higher. Idayani, a regular consumer of dragon fruit, for example, told The Post she spent around Rp 30,000 on dragon fruit sold in supermarkets.

Such venues, she said, were her main destination for buying dragon fruit as they were rarely found at other places, much less in traditional markets.

Many believe dragon fruit are good for human health. They are believed to be good for people with a high level of blood sugar, they help prevent cancer, reduce the cholesterol content in human blood, prevent bleeding and are good for dental health.

Idayani, who has cancer, believes that dragon fruit has contributed a great deal to her fitness level. She said she felt good every time she ate the fruit. "I feel fresher after consuming it."

It also makes a very delicious, refreshing fruit juice," she said, adding that she often found it very difficult to find such juice in town.

It was also because of this prospective business opportunity that 48-year old Kardiman, a farmer from Trisik beach, Kulonprogo, has been trying his luck in the business.

He had started even before the local regental government started its pilot plantation in Kalibawang. He planted them in 2003, on his relatively small fields.

He bought the seedlings in the nearby town of Delanggu, Klaten, Central Java, in mid-2003. Within six months he started to harvest them. "The results were quite good. I can sometimes sell them for Rp 25,000 per kilogram, and they always sell out," he said.

Planting dragon fruit, according to Kardiman, is easy and uncomplicated. They require only simple maintenance. Once they are planted, he says, they need only watering during the dry season and manure as fertilizer.

"It's a very simple, cheap process," he said.