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Dieng Plateau: from potatoes to cultural heritage

Changing times: Potato fields in Dieng Plateau, Central Java, have replaced the lush jungle that once drew hordes of tourists eager to enjoy the forest scenery

P.J. Leo (The Jakarta Post)
Dieng
Tue, October 20, 2015

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Dieng Plateau: from potatoes to cultural heritage

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span class="inline inline-center">Changing times: Potato fields in Dieng Plateau, Central Java, have replaced the lush jungle that once drew hordes of tourists eager to enjoy the forest scenery.

Other than its scenic views, cool weather and historical significance, Dieng Plateau is also famous for being Indonesia'€™s largest producer of potatoes, which have slowly taken over from the area'€™s tobacco and corn crops.

Dieng Plateau, spanning Wonosobo and Banjarnegara regencies in Central Java, boasts so many potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) '€” a prized produce of the highlands '€” that potatoes are now virtually synonymous with Dieng.

No vacant land is left unplanted by the locals, who predominantly earn their living as potato farmers, helping to make Dieng the largest potato producer in Indonesia.

Before '€œpotato fever'€ took hold in Dieng in around 1985, its community was growing tobacco and corn. The entry of potatoes from West Java, however, led to an abandonment of traditional crops due to potatoes'€™ far shorter growth cycle and higher market value.

Tobacco takes six months to grow compared with only three months for potatoes. While tobacco and potato planting costs about the same in terms of capital, the income from potato harvests is bigger.

Potatoes are harvested every three months and come in various sizes. Prices are determined according to the quality rating and variety of potato. Farmers'€™ earnings are not affected by any marketing barriers because collectors directly buy their yields during harvest seasons.

Unsurprisingly, the alluring income to be made has caused many Dieng farmers to shift to potatoes while local forests have also been cleared for potato planting, which is now being done on hillsides as well.

The '€œpotato fever'€ also affected non-farmers. Humam, for instance, was lured into the potato business after finishing his studies at an economics college in Semarang, Central Java. '€œAfter working in an office in 1993 as a resident of Tapak Banteng village, Wonosobo, I chose to become a potato farmer while prices were lucrative,'€ he said.

'€œThrough potato planting we can afford motorcycles, cars and even go on the haj pilgrimage. It'€™s quite an appealing enterprise,'€ added Humam, who is now chairman of the Bergema (resounding) Potato Farmers'€™ Group in his home village of Tapak Banteng.

There are some issues to be resolved following the area'€™s switch to potatoes. Most farmers don'€™t realize that potato plants are '€œhostile'€ and capable of damaging the plateau'€™s land conditions. For example, potatoes cannot grow under other plants, which has prompted local farmers to cut down trees for the sake of the profitable commodity.

Going green: The hills of Dieng Plateau, once deforested, have been regreened after potato farmers planted cemara angin trees to prevent erosion and landslide.
Going green: The hills of Dieng Plateau, once deforested, have been regreened after potato farmers planted cemara angin trees to prevent erosion and landslide.

This fact obviously reduces the beauty of mountain scenery as well as the lakes and craters scattered over the highland, which is frequently likened to a hidden paradise on Java Island.

Dieng Plateau is the second vastest highland in the world after Nepal in the Himalayas, which borders with China in the north and India in the west, east and south.

The history of Dieng'€™s formation indicates that the zone was originally a very extensive volcanic crater that later transformed into a lake and a marshy area before finally becoming land.

In the early 19th century a temple complex was discovered on the plateau with 13 inscriptions in Sanskrit, one of which mentions Dihyang, believed to be the origin of the name Dieng. Di means a high place and hyang refers to deities, thus implying an abode of the gods.

Therefore, Dieng has long been a major destination for pilgrims. It is also a constant challenge for researchers with its many as-yet-unexplored historical features and a hub of natural and cultural tourism.

At an altitude of 2,000 meters, Dieng is easily accessible from Wonosobo city to the north, which makes the plateau more often considered part of Wonosobo regency, although technically it also belongs to Banjarnegara regency.

Large trees help to strengthen soil and absorb water, and so as they are felled and the highland is converted into treeless potato plantations, the environment becomes at risk. When it rains, the layer of fertile soil is gradually eroded, drifting as mud floods.

'€œThe continuous erosion during the wet season has lowered the quality of soil for potato plants in Dieng, which in turn reduces farmers'€™ incomes. Potato farms that once offered huge profits now often make a loss,'€ said Misyadi, a member of the Community Study Center, a Dieng youth organization for farming guidance.

Yet, farmers have kept opening new land without heeding conservation calls. Besides felling trees, they have also utilized steeply sloping land without using terracing and water channels, which can decrease the speed of water flow and increase absorption by soil.

'€œI feel deeply concerned when I see potato farmers in Dieng and in Tapak Banteng ['€¦] whose harvests have considerably declined,'€ noted Misyadi. In previous years, they only grew potatoes in the dry season, followed by corn, wheat or vegetables at other times.

Ready to go: Farmers transfer harvested potatoes into a sack for shipment to the market.
Ready to go: Farmers transfer harvested potatoes into a sack for shipment to the market.

The soil damage in Dieng has been due to its overly intensive cultivation for potato farming, including using various fertilizers coupled with high-dose chemical pesticides and insecticides, causing soil and water contamination and limiting clean water availability.

'€œWe'€™ve actually begun semi-organic potato farming by using a small bit of manure and a greater proportion of bio-fertilizers,'€ said Humam.

Semi-organic planting, according to Human, boosts soil effectiveness and causes no ecosystem damage, while saving a lot of cost. '€œThrough semi-organic farming, the cost can be slashed by more than half,'€ he added.

The expansion of potato plantations, now encroaching on protected forests areas, has spoiled the attractive views of Dieng'€™s ecotourism spots and caused tourist numbers visiting Dieng Plateau to decline.

'€œOur group is aware of the infrastructure improvements and greening efforts being made by regental and provincial governments in the Dieng area. We'€™re also planting cemara angin [Casuarina junghuhniana] trees around our potato areas,'€ Humam pointed out.

'€œWe'€™ve chosen this species because it has been proven to have no adverse effect on potato plants. Cemara angin has thin, elongated leaves with a very soft texture and its roots go straight down into the ground so that the potato plantations are not disturbed,'€ he said.

With this greening over the last four years in Tapak Banteng, water sources have emerged thanks to absorption by casuarina roots and landslides in the wet season have decreased as the land is again strengthened by the surrounding trees.

When Dieng is replanted with trees capable of retaining rainwater, the zone will regain its lush greenery and erosion will slow. Historical attractions such as temples and artifacts show that Dieng Plateau used to be a center of civilization. This cultural heritage will only remain meaningful with proper maintenance and protection.

'€” Photos by P.J. Leo

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