Who Says Young Women Don’t Want to be Farmers?
With her experience since vocational school, she was able to complete her study at the polytechnic on time.
While her peers are still working hard to finish college and are dreaming of becoming civil servants or office workers, Masnawati, 22, is busy taking care of her cocoa seedling business.
It is an unusual business choice for a woman of her age, at least in the village of Tarengge in Wotu district, East Luwu regency, South Sulawesi.
After graduating from the State Agricultural Polytechnic College in Pangkep in 2016, she chose to return to her village. Masna continued her cocoa seedling business that she had begun when she was in the eleventh grade at the SMK Tomoni agricultural vocational high school in East Luwu (Lutim).
She spends most her time in her yard and cacao plantation of her farther Tuo Talle, working with soil, polybags and cocoa beans. She earns at least Rp 10 million per month and uses some of that money to finance the studies of her brother at the local university.
"I want to grow this cocoa seedling business, as well as other farming businesses. I am saving money to buy more land for cocoa seedling as well as to open a farm shop," she said in an interview recently.
The young woman, who is more familiarly called Masna, also often helps farmers in her village. She shares her knowledge about the right way to plant cocoa trees or rejuvenate old ones. She has also pioneered cocoa rejuvenation in her village.
For the millennial farmer, being able to work with other farmers and share her knowledge with them is something that makes her happy. She also helped rejuvenate his father\'s cocoa plantation, which increased production from 300 kilograms per hectare to 1 ton per hectare.
A farmer’s child
Born as a farmer\'s daughter, she chose to continue her studies at the SMK agricultural vocational high school after finishing junior high school in her hometown and seeing most of the cocoa plantations in her village damaged by cocoa borer pest (PBK).
When she was in the eleventh grade, the fifth child of seven siblings attended field work practice (PKL) at Cocoa Development Center, PT Mars Symbioscience, for three months.
The United States-based company conducts research and development for cocoa cultivation in Lutim. In addition to managing the cocoa business, the company regularly provides training on how to produce cocoa of superior quality.
The training is joined by local farmers and students of the SMK agricultural vocational school. Farmers often refer to the training as “the cocoa academy,” and its graduates are called "cocoa doctors."
Masna absorbed all she learned during her three-month field study. After finishing the field study, she put that knowledge to use on her father\'s cocoa plantation. "I asked my father to rejuvenate cocoa trees using the grafting technique. Luckily, my father backed my idea. I also started growing my own cocoa seedlings to replace the trees that cannot be rejuvenated through grafting technique,” she added.
Initially underestimated by many because of her status as a student, she succeeded with the rejuvenation program. Her success opened the eyes of other farmers, who later followed the practice.
Seedling business
The cocoa rejuvenation program has led to surging demand for cocoa seeds. Masna saw that as a business opportunity. With her knowledge and a little capital to purchase poly bags, she started a cocoa seedling business and now sells the seeds to farmers.
Using the cocoa seedlings produced by Masna, her father rejuvenated his cocoa plantation, resulting in a sharp increase in production. That success lured other farmers to buy seeds from her.
"I asked three friends to help with the seedling. The capital was not much, just a few hundred thousand rupiah to buy poly bags. As for the soil, cocoa seeds and cocoa stems, I took them from my own garden. But my friend later pulled out," she said.
Masna was not discouraged and continued the business on her own. Every day after school, she spent the evening in the garden to prepare the seedlings. Occasionally, she was assisted by her father or brother. If there was a large order for seeds, she asked her college friends for help. Sometimes, students from her school who were doing practical work also came to help her.
His persistence paid off. The orders for seedlings, which initially amounted only to dozens of stems, slowly increased. Now, a single order can reach 20,000 stems.
The cocoa seedlings are sold at Rp 5,000 per stem. She also sells fertilizer and agricultural production facilities to increase her income.
While completing her vocational education, Masna continued her cocoa seedling business, utilizing the left and right sides of her parents\' property, which measure 6 meters x 20 meters and 4 meters x 20 meters. Later, her cocoa nursery was also used by her school friends and younger siblings.
Upon graduating from school, Masna furthered her studies at the State Agricultural Polytechnic College in Pangkep, financed with her own money earned from her seedling business.
While studying at college, Masna also took time back and forth to the village to take care of her seedling business. To increase her knowledge, she went to the Cocoa Development Center in Tarengge for entrepreneurship training.
With her experience since vocational school, she was able to complete her study at the polytechnic on time. Wasting no time after college, Masna returned to the village to boost her cocoa seedling business. She plans to buy more land for nurseries and to establish agricultural production facilities.
Masna never regretted spending most of her time since adolescence to study and work with dirty hands. To her, family is what gives meaning to her life. After all, aside from her busy life, she still took time to socialize and occasionally meet with college friends.
"I am happy with my life like this. At least I can help my parents, brother and sisters and share my knowledge with anyone. I am no longer thinking of any other occupation than to raise my business and remain meaningful to my family and relatives,” Masna said.
MASNAWATI
Born: In Luwu Timur, Dec. 16, 1994
Address: Tarengge Village, Wotu sub-district, East Luwu
Parents: Tuo Talle (father); Sapinah (mother)
Education: SDN 123 state elementary school in Tarengge; SMPN 1 state junior high school in Tomoni; SMK Negeri 1 state vocational high school in Tomoni; State Agricultural Polytechnic College in Pangkep
Training: Agronomy and Business Development at Cocoa Development Center, PT Mars Symbioscience, 2012 and 2016