Young, Handsome and Popular Farmers

ARSIP PRIBADI

Rayndra Syahdan Mahmudin has been a young farmer since he was at SMKN Ngablak Magelang, Central Java.

The agricultural sector is getting a fresh new look with youths entering the field as farmers and breeders. They work with soil and livestock while at the same time, they are making use of the internet to make breakthroughs in business. This is how Indonesia’s young farmers are making digital waves.

One young farmer is 24-year-old Rayndra Syahdan Mahmudin, a graduate of the Magelang Agricultural Extension College who is now in a graduate program in Yogyakarta. He is proud of being a farmer, his pride clearly reflected in the catchphrases printed on the T-shirts he wears. Some of these mottos are: “Peternak, Pemuda Terkenal dan Kece” (Breeders: Popular and Dapper Youths), “Petani, Pemuda Tampan Masa Kini” (Farmers: Today’s Handsome Youths), and “Yo Ngarit, Yo Ngopi” (C’mon let’s Farm, Have Coffee).

Also read: The Winding Path of a Young Entrepreneur

“I have 22 T-shirts with a variety of slogans. They’re meant to build self-esteem in being a millennial breeder and farmer. We’re also inviting other young people to start farming and breeding [livestock] in villages, which have vast economic potential,” Rayndra said on Sunday (11/10/2020).

Rayndra is a farmer who dresses smartly. He usually wears a T-shirt and pressed trousers with a stylish wristwatch. His appearance is very different from the typical image of a weathered and tanned farmer covered with dirt.

We’re also inviting other young people to start farming and breeding [livestock] in villages, which have vast economic potential

ARSIP PRIBADI

Rayndra Syahdan Mahmudi (front) invites young people to want to become farmers.

Rayndra started out breeding livestock with several friends in 2016, when he was still a college student. He raised cattle, sheep and goats, as market demand almost never fell. Today he has 700 goats and 20 cattle in the villages of Sidorejo, Ngadirejo and Pangarengan in Magelang regency, Central Java. He also has a recycled plastic chip factory that produces 5 tons per week. He has around Rp 3 billion in corporate assets.

Unlike conventional breeders, he uses the internet to spread the concept of simple and inexpensive breeding. Through this effort, he has become acquainted with a number of investors. He said one investor from Papua who he had never met in person was willing to entrust him with Rp100 million in capital.

Also read: Young Farmer Finds Happiness

The village of Penggung in Boyolali regency, Central Java, has an equally smart young breeder. He is Muhammad Jafar Khoerudin, a 26-year-old food science and technology graduate of 11 March University. Over the last two years, he has been farming the larvae of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens), or BSF, at a BSF industrial company in Boyolali.

BSF larvae farming is still alien to Boyolali. Jafar’s family once questioned his decision to start a larvae farm, which they thought was incompatible with his college degree and work experience in Japan. They wanted Jafar to work at a renowned company or become a civil servant. But he remained steadfast in his decision to farm BSF larvae.

Since then, he has been busy preparing plastic vessels filled with BSF eggs and ground organic waste. Every morning, he grinds organic materials as feed for the larvae. After that, he takes time tending to the larvae.

DOKUMENTASI PRIBADI

Muhammad Jafar Khoerudin (26) cultivates industrial scale BSF magots in Boyolali, Central Java.

“I have to prove that my decision succeeds. I learned [how to farm larvae] on my own,” said Jafar, who used around Rp100 million he made from his internship in Japan and a 100-square-meter plot to start his larvae farm.

His business has been fruitful. Larvae have high value as livestock feed. He has earned millions of rupiah from his venture while providing a solution to the waste problem. He has also been able to hire 10 employees.

Meanwhile, three youths have also decided to turn to farming in Pakis district of Magelang regency: 23-year-old Handoko, 20-year-old Dani Zaki Fauzan, and Andra Hasan Asrofi, also 20.

Also read: Relationships in a Cup of Coffee

They started out in 2016 by collecting civet feces to extract the coffee cherries the animals had ingested. With the guidance of their friends and several YouTube videos, they produced 800 grams of kopi luwak (civet coffee) from 1 kilogram of civet feces. They sold the coffee for Rp 200,000. Their buyers said the coffee had a nice flavor.

This inspired them to become coffee farmers. In 2017, they started cultivating the 50 coffee plants Dani’s grandfather and another farmer had left behind. The following year, they upskilled their farming techniques through a training and development workshop provided by a farming assistance program. Today, they cultivate 200 Arabica coffee plants in their respective areas and buy coffee from five assisted farms.

KOMPAS/REGINA RUKMORINI

Coffee making activities at Omah Kopi, Gondangsari Village, Pakis District, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Monday (12/10/2020).

Sharing knowledge

The success of these young farmers and breeders proves that village agriculture has great economic potential that can be exploit. It is this knowledge that Rayndra, Jafar, Andra, Dani, and Handoko are sharing through a variety of activities and training workshops.

Rayndra, for instance, shares his knowledge and experience in livestock breeding on his YouTube channel, which has at least 72,000 subscribers. He also talks to youths in his village and wherever he goes on the benefits of becoming a livestock breeder.

[Now] young people are starting to become interested in maggots.

Amid his busy days at his larvae farm, Jafar offers a rigorous training program on the economic potential of larvae farms for students, industrial workers and regional officials. The program participants come from not just Boyolali, but also Yogyakarta, Tangerang, Klaten and other regions.

“[Now] young people are starting to become interested in maggots. I entered [the field] through science. Maggots have potential as materials for cosmetics and nutritious food products. This needs more research and the maggot business is promising,” Jafar stressed.

Also read: Coffee Shops Start a New Life

Andra, Dani, and Handoko are also making efforts in attracting more youths to cultivate coffee and start coffee companies. Since 2018, they have been cultivating coffee seedlings and sharing them for free with whoever was interested in growing coffee, especially local residents who mostly grow vegetables.

In September, they opened a small café called Omah Kopi (coffee house) in their native village of Gondangsari in Pakis district. They are hoping that the café will inspire the entrepreneurial spirit of customers and passersby, particularly the local youth.

Who wants to become a farmer or breeder? Everyone can be counted among the trendy, handsome and popular young farmers that are driving the industry today.