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Santini expands orchid cultivation with Colombian firm
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Cultural parade participants decorate a stretcher, called a joli, with orchids. JP/Donny Fernando (JP/Donny Fernando)
O
rchid plantation firm PT Santini Mitra Amanah (SMA) has signed a technical assistance agreement on orchid cultivation with Colombia-based Alma Del Bosque following talks that began in July.
In an agreement signing ceremony held on Monday, PT SMA explained that the companies’ cooperation was meant to improve the quality of orchid cultivation in Indonesia through technological advancements, increased efficiency and better seed propagation practices.
"Both of these companies are relatively young. However, we hope that the current technical assistance can translate into long-term success and be developed in an investment scheme," PT SMA founder Riantini Sutedja Wanandi told reporters.
She expressed hope that the agreement would allow Indonesian farmers to have easier access to high-quality local seeds and avoid imports.
Speaking at the same event, Alma Del Bosque chief operating officer Lina Maria Molina said her firm's capacity in orchid cultivation was recognized worldwide, with its possession of 5,000 species and 15,000 orchid types from all over the world.
As a member of the Colombia Orchid Society, she said, the firm had also consistently won first place in orchid cultivation and management competitions in Colombia.
Alma Del Bosque has also won eight first-class certificates (FCCs) out of the 23 awards given to Colombia by the American Orchid Society.
“We are nominated with two of the best orchids in the world, namely with the Bollea Coelestis type and Miltonipsis Vexillaria type,” Molina told reporters.
The cooperation between PT SMA and Alma Del Bosque was intermediated by Colombian Ambassador to Indonesia Juan Camillo Valencia.
“Occupations related to flowers are the most heart-touching, as it represents the love, happiness [and] sadness of a person,” Valencia said.
The Jakarta Post is under the same parent company as PT SMA, the Santini Group.
