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.