Pioneering Organic Farming

KOMPAS/MELATI MEWANGI

Dedi Mulyadi

Dedi Mulyadi\'s passion for organic farming shows no signs of fading. His journey began with a determination to find solutions to the myriad of farming problems his father faced. Armed with an agricultural science diploma, Dedi has dived headfirst into providing solutions for all farmers in his village.

On Saturday morning (31/8/2019), Dedi, 28, and his father Kalim, 57, wore serious countenances as they discussing organic rice farming on the porch of their house in Pringkasap village of Pabuaran district, Subang regency, West Java. Their eyes appeared to blaze with their passion for organic farming.

Dedi has been hearing about his father\'s day in the rice fields since he was little. He was often troubled by the many problems that arose. "The problem my father faced in the rice fields stayed in my mind. Agriculture is not just a matter of planting and harvesting, but how to set up a management system to increase value," said Dedi.

The classic problem many farmers faced, according to Dedi, was that their dry grain was bought at a low price during a major harvest due to high yield while demand remained stable. In contrast, the farmers’ production costs tended to increase every year, but their output remained relatively the same. This did not include harvests that failed due to weather and pests. Farmers were always at a disadvantage.

His determination to solve these issues steadily grew. Sticking to the old ways would only worsen the farmers’ situation. Dedi eventually arrived at organic farming as a way towards a brighter future for farmers.

After completing his university diploma program in 2012, Dedi established the Paguyuban Bumi Mandiri agricultural forum for sharing knowledge and experience on organic farming. He endeavored to continue his family business of farming rice.

Dedi began by first amending the soil with the organic fertilizer he created. He made the fertilizer from microbial inoculants he developed at a simple home laboratory. The microbes were sourced from the immediate environment, and he worked for a year to produce the best fertilizer.

In 2013, he tested the soil amendment by adding the organic fertilizer and manure to his father\'s rice farm. It produced positive results. The soil became more fertile because it hosted many natural organisms, like earthworms. Land where chemical fertilizers were applied usually needed to be detoxified before planting a new crop of rice.

[The farmers] still focused on the quantity of harvest [yield], whereas in fact, quality is far more important. Changing mindsets is a long process.

At first, it was not easy to introduce organic farming to farmers in the village, because it was relatively unknown at the time and was thought to be complicated. Dedi proceeded quietly to prove that organic farming was better and more profitable than the established methods.

"[The farmers] still focused on the quantity of harvest [yield], whereas in fact, quality is far more important. Changing mindsets is a long process," he said.

Low production costs and relatively stable grain prices were the advantages of growing organic rice. Conventional rice farming incurs production costs of at least Rp 10 million per hectare to produce 6-7 tons of dried unhusked rice, while organic rice farming costs only Rp 5 million per hectare to produce 5-6 tons of dried unhusked rice.

The selling price of dried unhusked organic rice could be two to three times higher than the price of conventionally grown dried unhusked rice.

Developing organic rice farming did not stop with the harvest. Dedi also explored post-harvest innovations to market vacuum-packed organic rice bearing the Pringkasap brand. The 58 member farmers of Paguyuban Bumi Mandiri supply the organic rice. Dedi sells white organic rice for Rp 20,000 per kilogram, black rice for Rp 35,000 per kg and red rice for Rp 25,000 per kg.

KOMPAS/MELATI MEWANGI

Dedi Mulyadi

Sharing knowledge

Dedi understands that farmers prefer hands-on learning rather than merely learning theory. In 2016, he opened the Agrospora Agriculture and Rural Training Center (P4S), which combines theory with practice. Training is provided for free and is open to anyone.

Dedi was often underestimated in his efforts because he was only 21 years old at the time. As for the academic diploma he had earned, it was considered useless because he ended up farming rice. However, it was his education that drove him to continue innovating and sharing his knowledge with people.

"This is a particular challenge for me. They need concrete proof. In fact, [practical] field applications still require agricultural management theory from the upstream to downstream," he said.

Dedi was frequently invited to a number of events as an organic farming trainer. A few foreign visitors even came to his house to learn and invite him to partner with them.

His efforts in organic farming were recognized. Early this year, Dedi was appointed the National Expert Consultant on Organic Rice Production at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He also succeeded in helping his father earn the 2019 outstanding Indonesian rice producer award from the Agriculture Ministry.

Dedi still has many dreams, including a plan to integrate organic rice farming with organic animal husbandry and organic vegetable farming in his village. He plans to use rice by-products such as broken rice for animal feed, which would then be processed into organic fertilizer through the animal’s digestive system.

Dedi\'s goal is to turn Pringkasap into an organic farming village. Farmers only need to allocate one field for organic agriculture. The harvest from one field can produce enough rice to meet the family’s needs.

The main problem of organic farming is not cultivation, but consistency and mindset.

He believes that this approach will attract farmers to venture into organic farming. They can use organic cultivation methods and reap their benefits through practical application.

"The main problem of organic farming is not cultivation, but consistency and mindset," stressed Dedi.

KOMPAS/MELATI MEWANGI

Dedi Mulyadi

Dedi Mulyadi

Born: Subang, 29 March 1991

Education: Level 3 Diploma, Agricultural Technology and Development, Bogor Agriculture Institute (2009-2011); SMK Negeri 2 Subang vocational school, ornamental plant farming (2006-2009); SMP Negeri 2 Pabuaran, Subang (2003-2006); SD Negeri Pringkasap 2, Subang (1997-2003)

Achievements: National Expert Consultant on Organic Rice Production, FAO (2019); Third place, West Java Youth Pioneer, Food Sector category (2018); Organic/Healthy Rice Production Pioneer, Subang (2015)