I Nyoman Widiarta Mahayasa, Hybrid Lontar for the People
For the last 24 years, I Nyoman Widiarta Mahayasa has conducted research to devise a formula for growing hybrid lontar trees,
I Nyoman Widiarta Mahayasa
Millions of lontar (palmyra palm) trees growing naturally in 22 regencies and cities in East Nusa Tenggara have long been neglected. I Nyoman Widiarta Mahayasa first noticed that the lontar were in a state of need and were being ignored. For the last 24 years, he has conducted research to devise a formula for growing hybrid lontar trees.
Before hybrid lontar became a reality, Mahayasa processed lontar pulp into various kinds of food like fudge, jams, crispy sticks, chips, cakes, bread and syrup. The pulp was derived from discarded lontar fruits littering the ground. He also preserved lontar sap that could stay fresh for eight months.
Mahayasa began to feel concerned about the lontar when he witnessed sellers of lontar fruits going around Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). None of the fruits were sold even though the price was only Rp 3,000 (19 US cents) per kilogram. At the same time, a lot of lontar fruits littered the ground. Only some people used lontar fruits to feed pigs and cows.
“I started my research on lontar fruits that were already ripe and falling to the ground. The result was that lontar fruits, especially lontar pulp, has a high antioxidant content. It also contains very good [levels of] vitamin C. This finding is useful for the treatment of stomach pain, diarrhea, flu or cold and for antibody resistance,” said Mahayasa on Wednesday (2/11/2022) in Kupang.
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In order to make lontar more enjoyable and better known by the public, Mahayasa thought it necessary to process it in a more “respectable” way. Its processed products could be used as alternative foods. Moreover, the government was promoting food substitutes like sorghum and tubers.
Mahayasa promptly formed groups of housewives to process the lontar fruits. From only one group with five housewives in Kupang city, it developed into six groups, including three groups in Rote Ndao regency, the center of lontar cultivation.
“The groups were formed during 2006-2017. However, there were no personnel to provide guidance. I was busy on campus. Business capital and marketing were lacking. These business groups were disbanded one by one. The main problem was marketing. I could only arrange their participation in local exhibitions,” said Mahayasa.
There was no support from local policymakers.
“They were short of promotion. There was no support from local policymakers,” added Mahayasa. Yet the creativity of Mahayasa earned the Upakarti award from the Industry and Trade Ministry in 2010.
He felt unsatisfied, though. His research results did not yet benefit the majority of the regional population while lontar trees were scattered all over NTT. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) from NTT in 2010 documented the presence of around 5 million trees comprising 950,000 young plants of less than 10 years old and 4.05 million older trees of more than 10 years old.
In early November 2022, at the request of housewives of the Family Welfare Organization (PKK) of Kupang city, Mahayasa again trained them in making cakes and crispy sticks from lontar fruit pulp. He hopes that through this training the women of the PKK will also be interested in producing various foods and drinks from lontar.
Too high
Mahayasa observed that most of the lontar trees being tapped by lontar farmers in Kupang city, Rote Ndao and Sabu Raijua were up to 30 meters high, which endangered the safety of tappers. In 2018, he initiated hybrid lontar in Sabu Raijua regency with then-regent of Sabu Raijua, Marthen Dira Tome (2010-2017).
As coconut trees could be hybridized, he was convinced that the same could be done with lontar. The height of the hybrid lontar was designed to be 3-4 m. But he did not work alone. Mahayasa collaborated with a researcher from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and another from the Coconut Research and Development Center of North Sulawesi. Mahayasa, as an expert in germination, was named chairman of the team. The patent for his germination technology was secured in 2014.
Hanes Henuk (53), a resident of Lasiana Village, Kupang City, came down from the palmyra palm tree by carrying a bucket on his body to store palm sap, which will be processed into alcohol, various types of sugar, on Sunday (28/2/2021).
A special technique or treatment is needed to prepare the germination or growth of lontar seedlings. Through the special method, he obtained germinating lontar seedlings within only six months. Thereafter, lontar seedlings could be planted at a depth of around 1 m from the surface of the ground.
Hybrid lontar can be productive after six to 10 years. The engineered lontar trees are already four years old on Sabu and Raijua Islands. There are about 300 hybrid trees being reproduced in total. Mahayasa plans to reproduce this lontar variety throughout the NTT region, especially in Sabu Raijua, Kupang city, Kupang regency, Rote Ndao and parts of Sumba.
In this region, lontar is one source of livelihood for local people. The development of hybrid lontar trees relieves farmers of their over exhaustion when climbing to tap lontar sap or harvest lontar fruits. The planting distance is 4-5 m. With the close distance between lontar trees and shorter trunks, farmers can cross from one lontar tree to another when tapping or reaping lontar fruits.
“It’s our target for the future. Farmers won’t need to climb up and down and move from one tree to another,” he pointed out.
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This, according to him, is because the tree-climbing devices for coconut or areca palm trees don’t apply to lontar trees. Lontar stems have fronds that are not easy to remove even after the lontar tree reaches a certain height.
The fronds remain attached to the lontar stem so that it is difficult to climb using tree-climbing devices.
And lontar farmers have been waiting for hybrid lontar trees for a long time. In tropical and rocky regions like the greater part of NTT, lontar grows naturally. Therefore, lontar trees have always become a reliable source of income.
As a lontar expert, Mahayasa has also researched lontar sap. Newly tapped lontar sap tastes sweet. The fresh sap can only last for five hours. It later turns sour because of its alcohol content.
The juice tapped only lasts for five hours, after which it turns alcoholic and tastes sour.
Mahayasa has invented the technology for lontar sap preservation. The sap can now remain fresh for eight months. Mahayasa plans to distribute the lontar juice to hotels and restaurants, but this study result has gained no support yet.
“Unless preserved, the juice tapped only lasts for five hours, after which it turns alcoholic and tastes sour,” he said.
Mahayasa’s research achievements in hybrid lontar trees has now become a pillar on which the people of NTT pin their hopes. They expect this type of lontar to make it easier for them to manage the trees and draw maximum benefits.
I Nyoman Widiarta Mahayasa
Born:Singaraja, Bali, 28 November 1960
Wife: Laksamayanti
Education: Doctor’s degree in Agronomy, Brawijaya University, Malang
Children: Maya, 30, Angga, 28 and Astri, 25
Occupation: Lecturer at Nusa Cendana University, Kupang
This article was translated by Aris Prawira.
