Decorative plants lift welfare of Bogor farmers

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java

Hundreds of farmers in Bogor's Tajurhalang village have improved their welfare thanks to decorative plants.

Before, the farmers, who live in a valley near Mt. Salak, were poor. They planted bananas, cassava and pineapple, but only managed to earn Rp 200,000 (US$22) to Rp 300,000 a month. The money was barely enough to meet their daily needs, let alone send their children to school.

Then the farmers joined the farming group Violces. Afterward, they decided to shift to decorative plants, which according to interviewed farmers, were more profitable than what they used to grow.

"The profit from selling anthurium or poinsettia seedlings can reach up to Rp 15 million a month," Cecep Suryadi, a farmer, said.

Anthurium has become a trendy decorative plant among some circles in large cities.

Cecep said his income from growing and selling decorative plants was enough to send his children to university. One of his children is a graduate of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), one of the most reputable universities in the country.

"Before, we couldn't keep cows. We were poor. We could not pay for our rice, let alone pay for our children's education. We ate bananas and cassava, leftovers from our unsold crops," Cecep said.

He said the popularity of the anthurium might eventually fade and prices go down, but he was not worried because he grew other plants as well.

Ukas Supendi, another farmer in Tajurhalang, agreed with Cecep.

"I prefer growing bromelia, a kind of decorative pineapple plant. Its price tends to go up instead of dropping," Ukas said, adding that he sold bromelia for between Rp 3,000 and Rp 1 million.

He has used the money from his new business to send his children to school, renovate his house and expand his farm.

From growing decorative plants, Ibu Ikah, a mother of three, has been able to further her children's education. She said she made Rp 1.5 million per month from her business, enough for her "children's education and daily needs".

Although all residents of Tajurhalang earn money growing decorative plants, there is no competition among them.

"We never compete. If a customer asks for something I don't sell, I will get it from a fellow farmer. We help each other in marketing our plants," said Ukas.

Together, resident have improved not only their own lives, but the life of the entire village.

The village has now clinched its status as the center of decorative plants in Bogor. The village, which used to be underdeveloped and dirty, is now green, with every yard filled with decorative plants.

Every weekend, the village is swarmed with buyers coming from Jakarta and surrounding areas.

Tajurhalang village head Odih said there were 300 farmers in the village.

"We just received financial assistance of Rp 75 million from the regency administration," Odih said. "I hope we can continue to be the largest decorative plant center in the regency."