Majalengka farmers uproot own clove trees

Majalengka farmers uproot own clove trees

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Majalengka, West Java

The declining price of cloves has prompted farmers in Talaga and
Baturajeg districts to uproot their clove trees, saying they
could no longer afford to maintain their plantations.

Some of them have tried to switched to fruit growing in the
hope of making good their losses on cloves.

Talaga and Baturajeg districts are widely known as West Java's
clove-growing centers, with some 400 farming families
traditionally making their living from the commodity.

Dadang, 40, a farmer from Talaga, said that he had cleared his
plantation by ripping up and burning some 300 clove trees.

"I have already spent a lot of money taking care of the trees,
but the price of cloves has dropped sharply," he explained.

He said he had to spend between Rp 10 million (US$1,176) and
Rp 15 million to maintain each hectare of his two-hectare
plantation.

Currently, cloves are selling for a mere Rp 4,000 per
kilogram, far below the Rp 85,000 per kilogram fetched during the
last harvest season.

Dadang has now planted fruit trees, such as durian and orange
trees, as well as vegetables.

Aminudin, 46, a farmer from Baturajeg, echoed Dadang's
comments. He said he had torn up some of his clove trees and sold
them for firewood.

"We sell a bundle of branches for between Rp 1,500 and Rp
2,000. Not so bad, I suppose," Aminuddin said.

The uprooting of clove plantations is set to increase, and has
begun to happen also in the neighboring regencies of Banjaran,
Wanahayu and Cibaur.

In response to the situation, Majalengka plantation agency
director Tuti Suwarti said she could not control the market.

"We cannot do anything to control the market price. But we can
offer farmers assistance should they wish to shift to other, more
profitable commodities," Tuti said.