Shiitake mushrooms 'promising venture'

By Sri Wahyuni

WONOSOBO, Central Java (JP): Supriyadi, 23, could not help but beam watching Minister of Agriculture Sjarifuddin Baharsjah harvest the first shiitake mushrooms that he and other young farmers in Kreo village, Kejajar district, had been cultivating for the past six months.

"I'm so happy because my village was chosen to be one of the sites for the shiitake cultivation pilot project," said Supriyadi, who previously grew corn, potatoes or tobacco on his 0.5 hectare land.

He and his parents used to produce 1.5 tons of corn worth Rp 750,000 or two tons of tobacco leaves at Rp 1,500/kg or five tons of potatoes at Rp 700/kg. Now, about every six months, he will be able to make four harvests, produce a ton of mushrooms and earn more money, he told The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

"Fresh shiitake mushroom has a roadside price of Rp 5,000 (US$1.50) per kilogram, while dried ones can reach Rp 50,000 per kilogram," said S. Bambang Widodo, the head of Wonosobo's Agriculture Office, who attended the first harvest by Sjarifuddin Tuesday.

Wide-leafed shiitake mushrooms grow naturally on wood.

As they are considered economically promising, the local agriculture office has invited the Indonesian Agribusiness Foundation (YAI) to conduct a partnership with local farmers. It set up a nucleus farming scheme between local farmers and PT Agri Inti Jamur in Lembang, West Java.

The Committee for the International Technical Cooperation (CITC), a Taiwanese non-governmental organization, set up a Rp 325 million fund for the pilot project which involves four villages in two districts. They are Mlandi and Maroa villages in Garung district and Kreo and Serang of Kejajar district.

Supriyadi and 14 other farmers, all aged between 22 and 25, were selected for the project because they were still young and "motivated" to enter a business which until now had been the venture of big companies only. The youths were trained for two months in Lembang, West Java.

The villages were chosen primarily because of their low agricultural productivity. The project therefore hoped to increase local farmers' income.

The areas also had a climate suitable for shiitake mushroom cultivation, according to Bambang Widodo.

The villages, for example, have an average temperature of 18 to 25 degrees Celsius and have a relative humidity of 90 percent to 95 percent. Such climatic conditions are suitable for growing mushrooms, Bambang said.

In the first stage, 15 mushroom nurseries were built in the four villages. Each nursery, covering 120 square meters, can house 900 logs which serve as planting media. Ten more nurseries are expected to be built in the other villages of the region in the near future.

"We expect to build 500 growing houses over the next five years," said Bambang.

Each farmer was given Rp 4.5 million for a nursery worth Rp 1.5 million, materials, mushroom spores and other supporting tools and equipment. They are expected to repay the loan in five years.

The shiitake cultivation pilot project is part of four other similar projects throughout Java. These include the sheep breeding pilot projects in Tegal, Central Java; chili cultivation in Tangerang, West Java; egg flour production in Blitar, East Java; and duck breeding in Serang, West Java. All are under the joint cooperation between YAI and CITC.

"All of the projects are based on the principle of cooperation in rural reconstruction," Bambang said. "The mushrooms project is only the start. Once it's no longer considered profitable, we will switch to other commodities."

For the time being, though, the young farmers need not worry.

"The market is there," Bambang said, adding that production is now based on orders from Japan and Taiwan.

Competitive

Speaking in front of local farmers and officials during the first harvest, Minister Sjarifuddin said that Indonesia's agricultural development today is based on market orientation. Only competitive commodities will be produced.

"It's very fortunate that Wonosobo has so many competitive commodities," he said.

Wonosobo has long been known as an agricultural area. Among other competitive agricultural products produced in the area are potatoes, hybrid corn, tobacco leaves, asparagus and many different kinds of mushrooms.

Along with the shiitake cultivation pilot project, the ear and oyster mushrooms were also introduced.

"Shiitake has bright prospects, both in the domestic and the international markets. In Japan and Taiwan, especially, its market is big," Sjarifuddin said.

"With cooperation with big companies such as this one, I'm sure there will be more farmers in the future who can turn to this promising commodity," he said.