Farmer dreams of 'tuber country'

Farmer dreams of 'tuber country'

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta

Gunungkidul, in the southeastern part of Yogyakarta, has long been known as a barren, dry, infertile region that recurrently experiences shortages, not just of clean water but of rice too, during the dry season.

Usually, dried cassava, known locally as gaplek, is substituted for rice whenever a food shortage occurs. Rice can only be cultivated once a year during the rainy season. In the dry season, Gunungkidul's soil is only good for growing tubers.

Concerned by this situation, Trisno Suwito of Sawahan village in Ponjong, decided to try to cultivate various types of tuber that could be used as a staple food, aside from gaplek.

Gaplek has been a good substitute for rice, so far. Yet, due to its oversupply, particularly at harvest time, it often has almost no economic value. Its price often drops sharply, sometimes when local people need to sell it to enable them to buy clean water.

"Gaplek is not the only tuber we can cultivate in Gunungkidul. There are many others types that would make good substitutes for rice," 60-year-old Trisno told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

Trisno started in 2000 to cultivate various kinds of tuber in his 5,000-square-meter field, located about a kilometer away from his house. Initially, he grew only a single type of tuber, which he called a jempino.

Currently, after looking for more tubers in neighboring villages, he has planted no fewer than 16 different kinds of tuber. These include gembili, gembolo, gadung, garut, ganyong, ubi ungu and ubi cicing. Most of them have more than one species.

"At first, I just collected as many types of tuber as I could and then cultivated them mostly to produce seedlings, while at the same time introducing them to neighboring families," he said.

At one time, for example, he made crackers from one of the tubers he planted and then distributed them to his neighbors. On another occasion he fried or boiled them before distributing them to neighbors.

"One day, I would like to see various kinds of tuber growing in all the unused fields in Gunungkidul," said Trisno, adding that, recently, he had begun to feel confident that what he was doing was not a waste of time.

"I see more people cultivating various kinds of tuber in their fields at present," he said.

Trisno added that the main obstacle to making his vision a reality was money.

Most tubers, particularly those that grow above the soil, need to be supported by bamboo, according to Trisno. Otherwise, they will not yield a good harvest. For a field of such tubers, Trisno needs at least 200 bamboo poles, which cost Rp 2,500 each.

"For that purpose, I have saved some money from the sale of my crops," said the father of two.

Nindito Setyono of non-governmental organization Langkah Bocah, praised the initiative, saying that it would help local people cope with food shortages during the dry season.

"I think it's time to educate people that food is not just rice, corn, or cassava. Other tubers are also good supplies of foods," Nindito said.