Advice about fertiliser and pesticide use in Indonesia increases income
Intensive advisory programmes about the cultivation of sweet pepper (paprika) and hot pepper helps Indonesian farmers to increase their income. Together with local partners Applied Plant Research (PPO) is developing practical guidelines and communicates these via smart advisory programmes and training.
Insufficient knowledge
Vegetable production in Indonesia is increasing as result of an increasing demand. But as yet this development has insufficiently led to higher incomes for farmers. One of the reasons is that the famers know too little about the pesticides and fertilisers they are using: they are spraying too much or use the wrong substance against the wrong pest or disease. They also apply more fertiliser than required by the crop. This results in more money being spent on the crop than necessary.
Advice in Train the Chain
In the Train the Chain project the scientists are tackling the lack of knowledge through intensive advisory programmes. First they prepare – together with growers and other stakeholders – recommendations for crop cultivation. They show these best practices in demonstration fields: for paprika in a greenhouse in West Java, for hot pepper at three locations in the open field in Mid Java. The scientists are then using these locations to offer training sessions to the more advanced growers. They are also organising open days during which visitors receive instructions about the improved growing techniques.
With their advisory work the scientists are not only focusing on the farmers themselves but also on agricultural education. They are developing courses for teachers of secondary agricultural schools and for university students for which they make use of the experiences gained in the project. They then record all experiences on video and in a large number of publications, posters, teaching modules, and cultivation manuals.
Successful procedure
The new cultivation methods are very successful on the demonstration sites. The cultivation systems show that farmers’ incomes may rise by up to 50 per cent. This is especially the result of the sparing use of crop protection products and fertilisers and improved crop management. The use of crop protection products decreases by about ten per cent.
Further expansion of this procedure to other Indonesian regions is intended.