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Buleleng grape farmers cry out for help
It was once a fertile vineyard with purple grapes hanging on each healthy vine
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It was once a fertile vineyard with purple grapes hanging on each healthy vine.
The scenery matched that of any vineyard in the world. Carpets of green filled with bunches of beautiful ripe grapes were seen everywhere in the villages of Buleleng in North Bali.
Local farmers in the Buleleng regency in North Bali, some 100 kilometers north of the Bali provincial capital of Denpasar, have successfully managed to grow grapes in the dry and arid soil.
The location of the vineyards is undoubtedly the most determining influence in the success of grape growing. Not all grape varieties can be successfully grown at any given site.
Certain grape varieties thrive in certain climate and soil conditions. Originating from Turkey and
grown in Mediterranean countries, grapes were foreign to many Balinese farmers, who preferred to cultivate local fruit and crops like mangoes, durians, oranges, pineapples and avocados.
However, thanks to the rapid development of farming technology, a number of farmers in the villages of Temukus in Banjar Labuan Aji, some 30 kilometers northwest of Singaraja, had been cultivating quality purple grapes, with a taste comparable to imported grapes.
A number of local winemakers procured their raw materials from this village.
Now, however, it seems like just a beautiful and sweet memory for many grape farmers there. “In the early l990s, we could sell purple grapes at Rp 15,000 [US$1.5] per kilogram. We gained huge profits from growing grapes,” recalled Made Ardika and his two fellow farmers Nyoman Sweca and Kadek Astawa, who are the pioneering grape farmers in the area.
The majority of small-scale farmers, who own one hectare of vineyard at the most, are now suffering from bad pre- and post-harvest yields.
“Most of us sell our harvest yields to middlemen. They are the ones who determine the price of the crops,” Ardika said. Last February, the latest harvest season, the intermediaries could only pay Rp 500 per one kilogram of ripe grapes.
“How can we cover all our production costs?” complained Astawa. “Many farmers just let the ripe fruits hang on the trees. We felt very sad and disappointed with this drastic market fluctuation,” Astawa added.
Historically, Banjar village was one of the potential locations on the island for grape cultivation. Local farmers in the village started to cultivate vines in the early 1980s with prolific yields.
Ida Kade Ardika, a successful grape grower in the village, explained that the quality of grapes from Buleleng was very good and many farmers could sell their harvests for domestic consumption.
“We sold the grapes to many supermarkets and fruit markets in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Medan in North Sumatra and many other cities in Indonesia,” said Ardika, a doctor turned noted vineyard owner.
Until the early 2000s, the condition of local grape farming was stable in terms of production, pre- and post-harvest handling and marketing lines.
“Our current situation has been influenced both by internal and external factors,” the doctor commented.
Internally, a large number of local farmers were reluctant to adopt the newest grape-growing technology, which required new expertise on grape cultivation including soil management, drip irrigation, new farming techniques and post-harvest treatments.
“There was so much innovation and new technologies to boost the production of grapes and to enhance the quality of the fruit. But, local farmers still had no access to the new systems,” Ardika added.
The present global climate change adversely affected the condition of the plants and the soils.
“Sometimes, the weather was so hot and dry, with very limited rain in the wet season and long droughts during the dry season.” The extreme weather also invited in new types of pests, he added.
While in other countries, farmers had already started using mechanization, Buleleng farmers insisted on adopting traditional farming methods. Such old-fashioned methods could no longer repair the damaged soil nor control pests.
“Vines need moisture and fertile soil. When the soil is not in good shape, the quality of the fruit will be badly affected. This led to the deep plunge of the price in the market,” he added.
The world trade system has allowed overseas countries like China, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand to flood local markets with their fruit. China is one of the greatest fruit exporters to Indonesia.
“With limited capital and farming skills, we cannot compete with the giant competitors like China’s farmers,” he added.
Government support of small-scale farmers is badly needed to encourage them to produce quality harvests. “What we need is stable marketing distribution and price mechanism,” he said. Additional training is required to help boost farming skills.
Vineyard cultivation is economically profitable if it is handled properly. One hectare of vineyard could yield 10 to 15 tons every harvest season. This means, every harvest, a farmer could gain Rp 60 million provided that the price ranges between Rp 5,000 and Rp 6,000 per kilogram.
“It requires strong commitment from all the stakeholders to develop our agricultural sector. Farmers in Bali and other places in Indonesia are always the losers.”
