Moving South Sumatran Coffee Up a Grade

A number of organizations have worked hard to improve coffee processing in South Sumatra so that the local product will be of a higher quality and fetch a better price in both domestic and international markets.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A coffee farmer picks red coffee cherries at the demonstration plot of the Cahaya Alam Village Forest Management Institute in collaboration with the Hutan Kita Institute in Semende Darat Ulu District, Muara Enim District, South Sumatra, Tuesday (19/7/2022). This coffee, which has been cultivated since two years ago, has a distinctive taste that is in demand outside of South Sumatra.

A number of efforts have been made to transform South Sumatran coffee into a well-known coffee brand.

Yantiara, 34, picks red coffee cherries from the branches of an arabica coffee tree that she planted at her plantation two years ago, in Cahaya village, Semende Darat district, Muara Enim regency, South Sumatra. She deftly walks on the sloping land while carrying a basket filled with coffee cherries and her youngest child, Attar, age 2.

"When the coffee fruits become red, it means they are ripe," she said as she continued to pick the coffee cherries in her garden on Tuesday (19/7/2022).

After collecting about 3 kilograms, she gave the red coffee cherries to her husband, Zamran, 30.

Then Zamran washed the coffee cherries in the tub. When the cherries floated, he immediately put them on a coffee drying pan measuring 4 by 6 meters at a temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius.

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The washing of the coffee cherries is the first stage in sorting out damaged coffee cherries.

"If the coffee cherries are damaged or not yet ripe, they usually sink," he said.

The red coffee cherries are then dried on a board. Drying is the most crucial thing to keep the water content of the coffee beans ranging from 12 to 14 percent.

High price

Elsewhere, there were about 18 kg of coffee beans that had been dried for 20 days. Their red color had changed to black, a sign that the coffee cherries were ready to be peeled using a coffee peeler machine, which exposes the green interior bean of the cherries.

The farmer then sells the product to a facilitator from the non-government forest organization (HaKi), which markets the coffee beans to number of coffee shops in Palembang, South Sumatra.

The price of the Arabica coffee beans offered by the organization can reach Rp 80,000 (US$5.5) per kg. The rice is far above the price of the arabica coffee beans offered by middlemen, which only ranges between Rp 18,000 and Rp 22,000 per kg.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A farmer drying coffee in a coffee drying house in the demonstration plot of the Cahaya Alam Village Forest Management Institute in collaboration with the Hutan Kita Institute in Semende Darat Ulu District, Muara Enim District, South Sumatra, Tuesday (19/7/2022).

The price of Zamran’s coffee is high because he uses a red-picking method and processes them properly.

"This is different from what is usually done by other farmers who often pick randomly. They even pick coffee fruits that have not yet ripened,” said Zamran.

Zamran changed the post-coffee harvest management in a proper way with the guidance of the HaKi social forestry team. The red picking process does require more patience, because he can only pick between 30 and 40 kg of ripe coffee fruits every 15 days. And the picking of the coffee cherries can last for several months.

This is different from random picking or “rainbow” picking in which the harvest is carried once a year in large quantities and the production can reach 1 ton of coffee beans. However, the price is much lower than coffe that was red-picked due to differences in quality.

Zamran has also applied organic farming in his coffee plantation. The process starts from digging a hole, which will then be filled with manure. After that, local arabica coffee seedlings are planted. The plant growth must be well maintained, especially when using herbicides to clear the grass. The use of the chemical product can affect the plant growth.

To get red cherries, Zamran had to wait about two years. "Now it is the harvest time and the price is quite good," he said.

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Professional postharvest coffee processing has also been applied in Agung Lawangan village, North Dempo district, Pagar Alam city, South Sumatra. Boedi and Rusi Siruadi are the pioneers. They are the chairman and secretary of the Kibuk Community Forest Group (Hkm), which was inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2018.

On the slopes of Mount Dempo, farmers grow arabica coffee on an area of 20 hectares at an altitude of about 1,500 meters above sea level. They grow vegetables under jackfruit and avocado trees. This land intensification system allows farmers to have a regular income.

Due to their seriousness, they received assistance from the government in the form of seeds, drying facilities and post-harvest processing equipment, such as grinders, roasting machines, peeler machines and a coffee pulping machine, which is used to peel the skin of wet and fresh red cherries.

These tools, worth Rp 1 billion, were provided by the Public Works and Housing Ministry .

Rusi explained that with these various facilities, farmers could easily process their coffee properly so that the beans were of a good quality and could fetch a good price.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Coffee farmers in Hamlet IV, Cahaya Alam Village, Semende Darat Ulu District, Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatra show arabica coffee beans, Tuesday (19/7/2022). Coffee is one of the leading commodities in this village and is marketed outside South Sumatra and even abroad.

Institutions

However, continued Rusi, it took an extra effort to promote the proper coffee processing system to farmers. Many farmers still sell coffee beans to middlemen because they need quick funds to pay debts. "The farmers should be under an organization so that they will have a better bargaining position," he said.

A social forestry assistant from HaKi, Aidil Fikri, said the coffee produced in South Sumatra had strong potential because it had a unique flavor. However, the farmers could not take the advantage of the superiority because they were often mixed with low-quality coffee beans to meet the demand of the coffee processing industry.

Usually, the middlemen buy randomly picked coffee beans from the farmers at only between Rp 18,000 and Rp 22,000 per kg, for both the arabica and robusta varieties. The coffee beans are then processed and sorted in a number of coffee companies located in Lampung.

“Coffee is then separated based on its grade. Good quality coffee beans are exported, while the low quality coffee beans are sold in the domestic market,” said Aidil.

With a such system, the big traders can get a higher profit because they can buy good quality coffee beans at low prices. Farmers' education related to coffee management must be further promoted so that they can produce premium quality coffee from their own plantations. This method is considered quite effective in introducing a coffee with good quality from South Sumatra to the world.

Strengthening the identity of South Sumatran coffee is crucial in the effort to take the province’s coffee to the world stage.

An official at the South Sumatra Plantation Office, Rudi Arpian, said South Sumatra was known as the largest robusta coffee producer in Indonesia. There are about 230,000 hectares of robusta coffee plantations in the province with an annual production of 150,000 tonnes.

With such a high production, the coffee from South Sumatra should have a big name. Moreover, several coffee varieties from South Sumatra have received certificates of geographical indication from the Directorate General of Trademarks and Intellectual Property of the Law and Human Rights Ministry, such as Semendo coffee, Pagar Alam coffee and Empat Lawang coffee.

With such advantages, Rudi said the local coffee farmers should not be afraid to compete with coffee producers from other regions. The office has also distributed extension workers to several coffee production centers to help promote a better post-harvest management.

South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru acknowledged that the lack of port facilities had also hampered the efforts to increase the sales of the local coffee to the world. The local coffee beans are mostly sent to Lampung because there is a port there.

The South Sumatra provincial government is also continuing to pursue the construction of the Tanjung Carat Deep Sea Port in Banyuasin regency. That way, coffee from South Sumatra can be exported directly from South Sumatra and strengthen the local brand.

According to Herman, strengthening the identity of South Sumatran coffee is crucial in the effort to take the province’s coffee to the world stage.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.