Agricom.id, JAKARTA – Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo said that the coffee production nationally in 2018 reached 717,9 thousand t0ns from about 1,23 million hectares. He told that in the commemoration of National Coffee Day in Auditorium, Gedung F, Ministry of Agriculture, Jakarta, Wednesday (11/3/2020).

He thought that the coffee production is still not optimal yet. It may happen for the old and unproductive trees, the trees are not clone, or the superior seed, the attack of disease and pest, and there is no good agricultural practices (GAP) consistently and also the impact of climate change.

“Besides in the downstream aspects, the quality of seeds may be not good because of the harvest and post - harvest are not in good handling practices (GHP),” he said, as in the official statement to Agricom.id..

Asep Sukarna of Asosiasi Petani Kopi (APEKI), Bandung Barat, West Java, said that the facility to plant coffee from the government and the people in the last five years were good enough.

But he continued that the development or facility of Unit Pengolahan Hasil (UPH) and the post – harvest are not good enough. He thought that this could be the time bomb for the better production but the infrastructures are not good.

“We now face the Corona virus (Covid – 19) which potentially postpones the export. The importers still hold the pre-order. 70 percent of the coffee from West Java should be exported. If not, the strategic plans to maximize the local markets would be piled up and there would be decreasing price,” he said.

To answer the issue, Ministry of Agriculture through General Directorate of Plantation has done many, such as, developing the sustainable coffee within the main activity, such as, expansion, rehabilitation, intensification, the helps of agricultural tools of post - harvest, including the process units.

Besides encouraging increase the production, he also supported that the farmers should be independent to develop their business by getting the fund access in kredit usaha rakyat KUR).

“Fund scheme in KUR in 2020 in the plantation sub-sector reaches Rp 20,37 billion. Of the numbers, KUR for coffee would be Rp 3,96 billion in the upstream and Rp 60 billion in the downstream,” he said.

He also gave the KUR symbolically to the coffee farmers from West Java, within about 194 million rupiah from BNI, BRI, and Bank Mandiri.

Usep Mulayana, the representative of coffee farmers from Village of Simpang, Sub district of Cikajang, District of Garut, who also got the KUR thanked for the helps.

“I have been working in coffee for about 12 years in a two hectare – area within Arabica. It could produce five tons per year. I would do my best to increase the harvest and to nursery the plantation. Every time we want to harvest, our plantations are mostly attacked by the ants and pest” he who will be 51 years old said. (A2)