Former clove farmers think of what might have been

Former clove farmers think of what might have been

By Agus Maryono

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Karsidi, 60, stared blankly at
his three hectares of cassava fields. He puffed on a cigarette he
rolled himself. Barechested and wearing knee-length pants, he
occasionally pulled out tufts of grass from the ground around
him.

"If I had not cut down my clove trees, my fate would have
changed for the better now. I regret it but what else can I do?"

The resident of Limpa Kuwus village, Sumbang subdistrict,
Banyumas district, Central Java, is one of several thousand clove
growers in Banyumas who laments a rash decision made in anger 10
years ago.

Thousands of clove growers, incensed by plummeting prices due
to the intervention of the Clove Marketing and Buffer-stocking
Agency (BPPC), went on a rampage by cutting down their own trees.

"Who wouldn't have felt frustrated then because the price of
cloves dropped from Rp 15,000/kg to Rp 1,500/kg. All clove
growers were enraged," said Karsidi.

In their anger and frustration, the growers cut down their
clove trees as a form of protest against BPPC, a government-
sponsored agency which unilaterally decided the price of cloves.

The trading system introduced by BPPC was considered unfair
because it led to a 1,000 percent drop in the price of cloves.

A staff member of the public relations section of the Banyumas
district administration, Wahid, said the total area of productive
clove trees subjected to irregular felling by the frustrated
clove growers stood at more than 5,000 hectares.

"At that time cloves in Banyumas grew on more than 10,000
hectares of land. Now the area has shrunk to only 5,000
hectares."

Of 27 subdistricts in Banyumas district, he said, the biggest
clove-producing areas were Kebasen, Sumbang and Kedung Banteng
subdistricts.

"About 70 percent of Banyumas' cloves come from these three
subdistricts and the remaining 30 percent in a roughly equal
proportion from the other 24 subdistricts," he said.

The advent of reform in the country led to the revocation of a
number of policies of the New Order regime. BPPC, as the only
organization authorized to regulate the trading system of clove
in Indonesia, was dissolved.

The price of cloves subsequently increased steadily. Within
two months after the dissolution of BPPC, the price of cloves
went up from Rp 1,500 to Rp 3,500, Rp 6,000 and then Rp 12,500.
And it was quite a pleasant surprise to clove growers in Banyumas
because in September this year, dry clove flowers could be sold
for Rp 35,000/kg although now, following the decreasing demand,
this price decreased to Rp 20,000 to Rp 22,000/kg.

According to the head of the economic section of Banyumas
district administration, Suyatno, the price surged because
cigarette factories in Central Java and East Java were prepared
to purchase the cloves at a price.

"However, it is a pity the stocks of clove here are low
because the land for clove growing is now much reduced."

He said the cloves bought by cigarette factories were a
combination of the latest harvest and stocks the clove growers
kept when the price was still good.

He said Banyumas district was once one of the largest clove
producing areas in Central Java, and cigarette factories seem to
assume it still is.

A clove wholesaler in Banyumas, Wijonarko, 50, said: "They are
ready to purchase the cloves at any price you name as long as the
cloves are immediately available."

Unfortunately, most of the clove trees have become firewood.

The former clove farmers can only watch as the price continues
to increase, blaming themselves for their hasty actions.

Naraji, 63, a clove grower residing in the same village as
Karsidi, said he could now only imagine owning a clove
plantation. He formerly owned a seven-hectare clove plantation
but cut down all the trees when the price went into a free-fall.

"If only I had not been carried away by emotion, I would have
been able to build a house. Maybe I would have a house with a
ceramic-covered floor," he said in his sprawling but dilapidated
home.

The floor is made of cement, darkened and dirty from use. In
his poor village of Limpa Kuwus, Naraji was once known as a
wealthy clove grower.

"Thanks to the cloves I can have this house and the land on
it. The floor was also made from the proceeds of selling cloves."

Productivity

Naraji and Karsidi can only imagine the potential riches if
they had kept their clove plantations.

"One good tree free from pests will produce 20 kgs of dry
cloves in one picking season," he said.

In a year, there are three to four harvests of ideally 300 to
400 clove trees on one hectare of land. In one harvest if the
cloves are good, the proceeds can be calculated as follows: for
one tree, the proceeds would be 20 kg x Rp 20,000/kg = Rp 400,000
while for one hectare, the money generated would be 400 x Rp
400,000 = Rp 160 million.

But thinking of the staggering figures stings in the memories
of the farmers. Although the price of cloves is high today,
neither of the two farmers has started to grow cloves again. They
admit to being traumatized by the experience of having their
livelihood and dreams destroyed by a government agency.

"We'll start growing cloves again someday when our country is
safe," Naraji said.