Several farmers in Cijulang village, in the valley of Mount Salak in Bogor, West Java, have started a new, environmentally friendly routine recently.

Harvest time: Organic food enthusiasts enjoy a free vegetable picking tour at an organic farm in the Cijulang village of Bogor, West Java. (JP/Faisal Maliki Baskoro)

They wake up early every morning to tend to their farms, inspecting their crops one by one.

For fertilizer they use goat’s manure from nearby goat barns, for pesticides they pour ash and spray liquid coconut husks. “It’s hard being an organic farmer, especially when you are not allowed to use any artificial chemicals,” Kang Marin said.

“I did not know anything about organic farming before the guys from Elsppat [an NGO concerned with organic farming] introduced me to organic farming back in 2000,” Marin said.

Marin’s fellow farmer, Ki Tarma, concurred. His first trial with organic techniques was a self admitted big flop.

“Pests destroyed my plants and I could not save them immediately with artificial pesticide. As

a result, I harvested nothing,” Tarma sighed.

He explained that it took some time to switch from conventional farming techniques, using artificial fertilizers and pesticides, to organic farming, relying on natural substances.

“Organic farmers must be more industrious than conventional ones, the success of their crops depends on their hard work every day,” Kang Yayan, Tarma’s friend, said.

Wawan, an activist with ELSPpat, said that nature is what organic farming is all about.

“Organic farmers must take into account the condition of the earth, the supply of water, the weather, possible pest attacks and many other things to ensure their crops succeed,” he said.

“So dependent is organic farming on nature that we can not dictate the supply of crops in accordance with the demand. Sometimes, the supply exceeds the demand, sometimes it is below the demand. That’s common in the organic farming business,” he added.

Such an unpredictable business is no win-win situation for farmers and customers.

“That’s why we introduced a contract system between farmers and customers. Organic farmers can grow vegetables or fruits according to suitable weather conditions, while customers are ready to buy the yields,” coordinator of the NGO’s rural economic development division, Gandi, said.

“Of course, the contract will limit customers’ freedom to choose what vegetables or fruits they want,” Gandi admitted.

However, he said that he believed that customers would understand the issue if they understand the nature of organic farming.

As part of efforts to boost mutual understanding between farmers and customers, the NGO organized a gathering recently where customers had the rare chance to talk to farmers and see how they work.

“I realized that it is nature that limits our choice, not the farmers,” Bibong Widyarti, a consumer of organic food since 1995, said during the gathering.

She said that the reasons behind choosing organic food included environmental preservation and empowering local farmers who treat nature with respect.

“Such a system sustains the life of both farmers and nature,” she added.

“You can help local farmers by buying their crops directly from their farms or traditional markets, instead of buying the crops from modern supermarkets,” she said.

Rila, another participant at the event, said that most organic food is more expensive than its conventional counterpart.

“Rice is usually priced at Rp 6,000 a kilogram. The price of organic rice can be twice as high, even four times as high at supermarkets.”  

She called on the government to help promote the consumption of organic food so that more conventional farmers would switch to organic farming and therefore the price of organic food would become more competitive.

“The added value of having organic food is not just preserving the environment and health, but also catering to the livelihood of the local farmers and bringing all the noble values to our tables,” she added. (fmb)

How to recognize organic vegetables:

1. Punctured leaves and long roots originally indicated a vegetable was organic, but now, top quality organic vegetables can have fine leafs and short roots as well.

2. Know when certain vegetables or fruits are in season. If you find an organic vegetable out of season, it may be an imported organic vegetable or not organic at all.

3. Some organic vegetables already have a certified organic label.

4. Organic vegetables have a crunchier and sweeter taste than conventional vegetables

5. Organic vegetables have a brighter color and stronger scent.

Source: Bibong Widyarti

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