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E. Lombok farmers harvest new shallot variety in rainy season
Farmers in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, can now harvest good yields of shallots in the rainy season, thanks to Sanren, a weather-resistant shallot variety.
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Good harvest — Seed producer Ewindo’s marketing director Afrizal Gindow (third left), East Lombok Agriculture Agency head Zaini (second left) and a representative of shallot farmers display Sanren shallots harvested in Labuhan Haji district, East Lombok, on Nov. 17. (JP/Panca Nugraha)
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armers in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, can now harvest good yields of shallots in the rainy season, thanks to Sanren, a weather-resistant shallot variety. With the prime seeds, harvest productivity has increased to 30 tons per hectare.
“Usually, we get 12 tons [of shallots] per hectare but this time, our harvest has reached 30 tons per hectare. We’re happy we can harvest during the rainy season, with quite a good selling price, which reaches Rp 18,000 [US$1.35] per kilogram of fresh shallots and Rp 32,000 per kilogram for dried ones,” said Muhammad Usman, 42, a farmer from Tirtanadi village in Labuhan Haji district, East Lombok, on Thursday.
Usman said the Sanren shallot variety was resistant to drought and rain and was much cheaper than local or Vietnamese shallots.
For 1 ha of land, Usman said, he needed only 5 kg of Sanren seeds, worth Rp 12 million. If he used local shallot varieties, he would need 4 tons of seeds worth Rp 40 million.
“Sanren shallots are also resistant to pests so our crop treatment costs will be not too high. We can get more profits,” Usman said.
Jointly held by the East Lombok Agriculture Agency and seed producer PT East West Seed Indonesia (Ewindo) that invented the Sanren variety, the harvest was attended by around 200 shallot farmers from across the regency.
East Lombok Agriculture Agency head Zaini said the use of Sanren seeds could become a long-term solution for shallot farmers often challenged by uncertain weather. (ebf)
