The Dedication of Sugarcane Farmers

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

The tradition of Temanten Tebu (sugarcane wedding) is held at the Pangka Sugar Factory, Posong village, Pangkah district, Tegal regency, Central Java, on Saturday (5/4/2019). Sugar cane from two different planting fields is paraded around the factory like a bride and groom. The event marked the start of the sugarcane harvest and milling season.

Although many sugar mills in Java were closed because they were no longer efficient and lacked raw material, some farmers remained faithful in planting sugarcane. Living on dry land, the farmers don’t have many choices. They remain loyal to their profession as sugarcane farmers as they believe it is the way of their life.

The hustle and bustle of the residents enlivened the situation around the Pangka sugar factory in Posong village, Pangkah district, Tegal regency, Central Java, on Saturday morning. Sugarcane farmers, factory employees, civil service representatives and villagers lined up on either side of the village road.

They rejoiced with great delight when watching the Temanten sugarcane wedding procession. When the sugarcane bride and groom were paraded along the road, a number of villagers tried to enter the march to take pictures. Slamet, 52, a local sugarcane farmer was among of them. He looked very enthusiastic.

The sugarcane wedding procession is a tradition of the sugarcane farmers that is held every year in the village to mark the start of the harvest season. After this, the farmers will work for six full months without stopping.

"This tradition is one of the top events that marks the start of the harvest and milling season of sugar cane in sugar factories," said Slamet. In this tradition, two sugarcanes from two different fields are treated as bride and groom.

The sugarcanes chosen as the groom and bride, which were named Bagus Nawangsari Janu Dananjaya and Roro Nawangwulan Maheswari Hasanti, were paraded around the factory. Before holding the sugarcane wedding procession, a night market was held for about a month. The event was a place for sugarcane farmers and the community to have fun before working hard.

The complex of the Pangka sugar factory also looked lively. The sugar factory founded in 1832 was also decorated like a wedding hall. At each entrance, the coconut leaves were put up like in a wedding party.

After being paraded from the sugarcane fields to the factory, the sugarcane pairs were placed on top of a milling machine. As many as 12 sugarcane sticks taken from Jatibarang, Brebes and Penusupan villages, Tegal, were also placed on the milling machine to accompany the “bride and groom”.

Wijanarto, a local historian, said that the Temanten sugarcane wedding ceremony was held for the two best sugarcanes in the area. The sugarcane that would be milled in the factory was expected to be as

good as the two sugarcanes. "This tradition emerged as a sign of the existence of the sugar industry in an area,” he said. “A similar tradition is also held in several other regions, such as in Brebes and Cirebon," Wijanarto added.

Survive

Nevertheless, the tradition of the Temanten sugarcane wedding has begun to lose its attraction because sugarcane farmers are not as prosperous as in the past. Slamet acknowledged that sugarcane farming was no longer promising. "Our income has declined. Two years ago, with two hectares, I got about Rp 1.5 million (US$105) a month. Now, I get only between Rp 800,000 and Rp 850,000 per month," he said.

The price floor of Rp 9,700 per kilogram set by the government was no longer enough to cover the basic cost of sugar production which reaches Rp 10,500 per kilogram. Even so, Slamet is reluctant to turn to other crops. The reason is because his farming area comprises dried land, which is only suitable for sugarcanes.

If Slamet wants to plant rice or secondary crops, he must spend extra money to set up an irrigation system. A number of sugarcane farmers have to find side jobs to get additional income. Tomo, 57, for example, worked on a construction project until the harvest season began. "While waiting for harvest, I worked as a construction worker. If you just rely on sugarcane, the income will not be enough," said Tomo.

The chairman of the Central Board of the Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers Association, Fathudin Rosyidi, said the decline in the people’s interest to work in the sugar industry also affected the operation of the sugar mills. As a result, many sugar factories were closed.

According to Fathudin, in the past Tegal had seven sugar factories. The Pangka factory was the only sugarcane mill that survived. Many other sugar factories in other areas have also been shut down, such as in Brebes and Cirebon. As the consequence, the sugarcane plantation area around the Pangka sugar mill has also declined sharply. At present, the factory is supported by 1,500 ha of sugarcane plantations. Several years ago, the sugarcane farming area reached 3,500 ha. The number of sugarcane farmers in Tegal is about 1,000 people, far lower compared to about 2,500 people four years ago.

Revitalization

Besides the shrinking land area, the operation of the sugar factory is also increasingly inefficient. The Pangka sugar factory still uses old milling technology. Fathudin hopes that the existing sugar factories in the area can be revitalized because they still have potential. With revitalization, the capacity of the sugar mill can be increased from between 1,700 and 1,800 tons of sugarcane per day at present.

Increased sugar production can also improve the welfare of sugarcane farmers, factory employees, truck drivers and residents around the factory. "We have repeatedly submitted requests for factory revitalization. However, until now there has been no response from the government," said Fathudin.

Meanwhile, the manager of the Pangka-Jatibarang sugar factory, Tri Agung Wahyudi, said in order to increase the supply of sugarcane, the company has cooperated with state owned forestry company Perhutani to provide 530 ha of land to increase the sugarcane farming area. This year, the rendement rate or the sugar content of the sugarcanes in the area is expected to reach 7.52 percent. Last year, the rendement was 6.68 percent, below the target of 7.56 percent. The rendement was low because the quality of the sugarcane was not as good as expected due to the weather. "Sugar produced by the Pangka sugar factory is expected to meet sugar needs in western Central Java," Tri said.

To reach the rendement target, the factory will make a number of improvements. One of them is to improve the efficiency in sugarcane processing at the factory. Based on data from the association of the Indonesian sugarcane farmers, the productivity of the country’s sugar factories is very low because most of them still use old milling machines. The factories can only produce seven tons of sugar from every 100 tons of sugarcane they mill, far lower than 14 tons in Thailand. For this reason, the revitalization of sugar mills is a necessity.

The president director of state owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) IX, Iryanto Hutagaol, said a number of its sugar factories in Central Java, which stood at 13 several years ago, has continued to decline. In 2016, it operated only eight factories and the number further declined to five in 2017. One of the factories, located in Kendal, is operated in cooperation with a private company.

Although the country’s sugar industry is not as sweet as sugar, sugarcane farmers in Central Java are still loyal to their sugarcane plantations. They hope the rolling wheels of the sugar mills will, someday, run faster in line with the revitalization of their operation, which would in turn would improve the life of farmers.