'Trubus' benefits from agribusiness trend

CIMANDE, Bogor (JP): As there is no indication that the economy will recover soon, many people have begun to turn to agribusiness, the most resistant economic sector, for a living.

The savvy see this trend as a perfect business opportunity to provide new entrants into agribusiness with the knowledge they will require to start a business of their own.

Trubus farming magazine has jumped on this trend. Since June last year, the monthly magazine, which was first published in 1971, began to hold agribusiness-related courses. It has also published books on farming.

Among the courses offered by Trubus is a three-day program on cultivating vegetables such as paprika, tomatoes and pak coy (a kind of mustard green) using hydroponic technology in Cimande, Bogor, a two-day course on growing vegetables in low altitude areas in Karawang, West Java, and a two-day course on cultivating chili during the rainy season in Bogor. The fee for each course ranges between Rp 990,000 and Rp 1.32 million.

The hydroponic course, for instance, introduces people to the markets for each crops and provides technical guidance, including designing a hydroponic network, mixing the correct fertilizers, identifying pests and taking preventive measures against these pests. The course focusing on the cultivation of chili teaches people how to minimize production costs and increase yield.

Short-term crops are selected based on an area's altitude. In Jakarta, which is in a low altitude region, one can grow chili, but for greater yields it is best to cultivate chili in high altitude regions, such as Bogor and the surrounding areas.

The magazine's deputy chief editor, Pinus Lingga, said there was an ever increasing number of people wishing to enter agribusiness, especially to grow chili and vegetables which could be harvested in a short period.

"Unfortunately, there are only limited human resources available. Those who have the knowledge and know the technology. That's what we are trying to provide, by training human resources for agribusiness," Lingga told The Jakarta Post.

The response has been very positive. Some 700 people have taken the courses since they began in June.

Onny Untung, the magazine's managing editor, said that enrollment for the last hydroponic course was closed 10 days before the class began. "We also have a waiting list to join the course on cultivating chili," he said.

Enrollment for the courses is limited to 35 people. Of the students in the courses, 90 percent come from a nonagricultural background.

Lingga guarantees agribusiness is a profitable business, with proper management and technology of course.

But agribusiness is not cheap.

To grow chili, for instance, one needs to invest at least Rp 50 million per hectare. After seven to eight months, however, one can harvest up to 12 tons of chili per hectare.

"With the price of chili now, count the profit yourselves. But to get such profits, you have to deal with some problems, including pests. But with the right technology, there is no problem you can't overcome," Onny said.

Using hydroponic technology to cultivate vegetables is also expensive.

For 2,000 square meters of land, Rp 50 million is needed to develop a good hydroponic system, including the microirrigation.

"I know it's not cheap to start the business, and not every farmer can raise the needed investment, but many begin with small spaces, such as 500 square meters," said Onny, adding that the magazine was also planning to offer counsel for those having difficulties in the business.

The economic crisis is one of the factors raising the price of the initial investment, Lingga said.

"We still have to import chili seeds from Taiwan and Korea, and the sharp depreciation of the rupiah has raised prices," he said.

He said a dependency on imports would not occur if the government paid attention to agriculture. "Agriculture used to be looked down on," Lingga said.

But the magazine, which also sells fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, among other things, to those in agribusiness, is enjoying a profitable business. "Our turnover has increased by about 60 percent ... previously, it was very difficult even to sell seeds," Lingga said.

And there is no fear there will be no market for the crops.

Onny said there were plenty of opportunities to export crops to a number of countries, including Japan.

He said that at the moment, many exporters were complaining about a lack of crops. An exporter said he could not meet his monthly export target of 90 tons of paprika.

"There's a huge demand for paprika, but if we count the yield of paprika from all over the country, it does not even reach 20 tons a week," Onny said.

And there is always a great demand for chili. "For Indonesians, there's no substitute for chili, so there will always be a demand for chili," Onny said. (ste)