Be a Friend for farmers

around the mining area

Elisabet Novia Listiawati from Jatipuro to Malifut

Living in a different island and culture is a challenge that I must face. This is not an easy thing to adapt with jobs and the local community. However this is also a challenging opportunity for me to grow up and discover diversities in Indonesia.

I come from Jatipuro, Karanganyar, Central Java, and now I am working at Bina Tani Sejahtera Foundation. This institution put me in Malifut sub-district, North Halmahera as a 'technical field officer' or a farmer companion, in its simple terms. So it is my resposibility to assist and foster farmers by transfering technology of cultivation methods practices, especially horticulture and provide knowledge of vegetable crops cultivation techniques.

Currently, I am working with farmers around a gold mining company PT. Nusa Halmahera Minerals (NHM). The purpose is the farmers around the mining understand techniques of cultivating horticulture and increasing nutritional values of the community through eating vegetables campaign. In 2020 PT. NHM will revitalize the company so the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) should have programs that involve local community around the gold mining, while they work as copra/coconut farmer which the coconut itself takes four years to harvest. Next, when the price of copra falls, like this year, the people still have income from cultivating vegetables.

In my work I face challenge from the community, such as, a mindset being afraid of failure in cultivating vegetables, failed to sell in market and other worries. Actually this fears exist because they haven't tried it before. Another worry is the farmers have not fully trust the company, so it faces difficulty to convince community about the opportunities of vegetable cultivation. When discussing about the potency of local area, actually it is good, for example the soil has not been utilized optimally, water is available even though it has to dig wells several meters, the market prospect is available because vegetable are still be supplied from Manado, North Sulawesi.

The efforts that I did for that, first, I accepted that this was the character of farmers in this area, secondly, I invited one farmer to create a demonstration plot in a strategic location so that passers by could see and observe the crops we were trying to make. The hope arises from their desire to learn about vegetable cultivation. It was proven that it was initially difficult but it didn't mean it couldn't. Farmers need proof and there must be someone who wants to start and prove it themselves. When it is successful, the development of information among farmers will be fast. So far their views on vegetable crop cultivation have begun to change, even though at first this horticulture plant was a side plant of coconut.

I am brave enough to travel in various regions because I found myself easy to adapt and eager to help others. I found it at Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta because when I was student I attended training held by the institution. As a forum for youth and students from various regions in Indonesia, Stube facilitated me opportunity to interact with various students from various regions and feel the true ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ national motto having meaning unity in diversity, even stayed in East Sumba as participant of Exploring Sumba program in 2015. Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta is the gateway of my ministry until in Timor Tengah Selatan regency, North Halmahera regency and hope to continue to other areas. For other young people, set your goals, do goodness with all your heart then all your dreams will come truel, and love what you are doing.