Making a Fortune amid Covid-19 in Jakarta through Seedlings

Ahmad Fahrizal and Yatno serve as proof that maintaining welfare by farming in the concrete jungle of Jakarta is not impossible.

KOMPAS/JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA

Cipedak avocado seed farmer Ahmad Fahrizal taught shoot grafting techniques to multiply seedlings in his garden located in Ciganjur Village, Jagakarsa District, South Jakarta, Saturday (20/2/2021).

A farmer cultivating avocado seedlings of the cipedak variety, Ahmad Fahrizal, 33, and another growing grape seedlings, Yatno, 40, serve as proof that maintaining welfare by farming in the concrete jungle of Jakarta is not impossible.

The avocado seedling plantation managed by Ahmad Fahrizal, better known as Rizal, is hidden from the hubbub of the city. It’s located in Ciganjur subdistrict, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta. From the busy street of Jalan Moch Kahfi II, it can be accessed through Gang Batu Ampel. At the end of this alleyway there’s an entry one meter wide, leading to land covered with green plants in plastic bags.

These plants are cipedak avocado seedlings, Rizal’s prized products.

“While other people are on lockdown, I’m on lockbon,” Rizal joking said when visited at his farmstead on Tuesday (16/2/2021). Lockbon, meaning lockdown in kebon (plantation), refers to the activity of this candidate for Millennial Farmer Envoy 2021 of the Agriculture Ministry now “trapped” in his engagement to meet public demand for cipedak avocado seedlings.

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During 2019, Rizal only sold around 6,000 cipedak avocado seedlings. However, since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Indonesia in March 2020 until December, he has managed to release 15,000 seedlings to several regions in Indonesia. He has even collaborated with Sejahtera Makmur farmer group to fulfill the demand.

While other people are on lockdown, I’m on lockbon.

It’s because during the Covid-19 pandemic many people were required to stay at home. Growing plants has thus become an escape for some of them from boredom. Orders for seedlings are coming in from various regions. “On 31 December the last batch of 2,500 seedlings was delivered to Singkawang (West Kalimantan),” said Rizal, who had received high school and college education in agriculture.

KOMPAS/JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA

A farmer checks cipedak avocado seeds in a garden located in Ciganjur Village, Jagakarsa District, South Jakarta, Saturday (20/2/2021).

Cipedak is a variety of avocado (Persea americana) indigenous to Betawi (Jakarta). The name refers to Cipedak village in Jagakarsa, the original place of its cultivation. With his high skill, the late Nisan Badar aka Pak Nicang produced the variety by grafting in the 1990s.

Officially named cipedak avocado in 2015, this variety is sought by the public for the quality of the fruit with its easily peeled skin, soft and fairly piquant yellow flesh that is not bitter and fibrous. “Cipedak avocado carries no worms either,” added Rizal.

Cipedak avocados finally belong to the premium class, costing Rp50,000-Rp70,000 per kilogram, while ordinary avocados are Rp20,000-Rp35,000 per kilogram on average.

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According to Rizal, cipedak avocado trees can grow in areas from Anyer Beach, Banten, to Ciwidey, Bandung.

Rizal even can afford to buy a plot of 5,000 square meters in Rumpin, Bogor regency, with his income from his plantation area of only 1,000 square meters he rents in Jakarta. The seedling cultivation also supports the lives of Rizal’s four helpers.

KOMPAS/JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA

Apprentice students from IPB University Bogor learn to reproduce cipedak avocado seeds using shoot grafting in a garden located in Ciganjur Village, Jagakarsa District, South Jakarta, Saturday (20/2/2021).

Sweet and selling

An inspiring story also comes from East Jakarta. Yatno, a member of the Public Facilities and Infrastructure Management (PPSU) of Jakarta, increases his income by maintaining a plantation, Kebun Imut Sinakal (Sigap, Niat dan Berakal or responsive, determined and smart), on Jalan Malaka 2, Malaka Sari, Duren Sawit.

Yanto’s grape seedling plantation is no less hidden. He shares the space with women of the Family Welfare Promotion Association (PKK) who also grow plants on a plot of only 600 square meters.

On Friday morning (19/2) in the plantation beside Fadhillatul Huda Mosque, bunches of grapes were scattered over different spots, hanging from light steel frames serving as racks.

“Some people have come, asking the price per kilogram. I said, just take them home,” said Yatno, as if the fruits didn’t mean anything. However, it was his strategy to persuade them to buy his main products: grape seedlings.

He revealed that around 90 grape varieties from 20 countries were grown in the plantation. The seedlings are usually released to consumers after two months when they reach the height of about 50 centimeters. Their prices depend on the varieties, ranging from Rp125,000 to Rp1.5 million per stem such as those of giant grande, midnight beauty and casanova.

According to Yatno, grape plants will have sweet fruits with proper maintenance. Through his cell phone, he provides guidance for his consumers until they bear fruits.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Grape farmers in the Kebun Imut Sinakal Grape Community take care of plants on plantations that occupy village land in the Malakasari area, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, Thursday (18/2/2021).

Yatno said he used the idle plot of public facilities owned by the Jakarta provincial government. The subdistrict supports his effort as it contributes to the beauty of the capital city. He spent Rp1.5 – 5 million on initial capital. He is assisted by four people who each gets Rp1.5 million per month.

During the pandemic, Kebun Imut Sinakal has produced 300-500 seedlings per month. Yatno delivers grape seedlings to Sumatra as well as Papua.

Solution amid pandemic

Based on data from Statistics Indonesia, the rate of open unemployment in Jakarta in August 2020 reached 10.95 percent, equal to 572,780 people. It requires many solutions to overcome the problem.

The urban agriculture undertaken by Rizal and Yatno gives examples of a solution in line with the program of the Food Resilience, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office (DKPKP) of Jakarta. The provincial government has drawn up a Master Design for Urban Agriculture 2018-2030, in which agricultural development is based on space rather than land.

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Acting Head of the DKPKP of Jakarta, Suharini Eliawati, said there were 17,825 urban agriculture activists in 2020, rising by 5 percent from 2019. In 2020, 1,421 locations of urban agriculture were recorded in Jakarta.

Although it’s unclear when the pandemic will be over, abounding fortune from avocado and grapes has been enjoyed by Rizal, Yatno and the people around them. Riding the wave of the coronavirus, they form networks with avocado and grape farmer communities all over the country so that their products are marketed beyond the capital city.

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira.