PALMOILMAGAZINE, PANGKALAN LADA – Numerous smallholders in Indonesia are continuously innovating to enhance their well-being and add value to their businesses. One notable innovation is intercropping, particularly during replanting programs. This approach has been effectively implemented by the Badan Usaha Milik Desa (BUMDes) Karya Mandala Makmur (KMM) in the Pangkalan Lada Subdistrict of the West Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan Province.
Spanning approximately 49 hectares, smallholders within this institution have cultivated various crops such as corn, pepper, eggplant, bitter melon, and watermelon. As a result, participating members have successfully generated additional income, with some earning up to Rp 8 million. Sartono, the Group Manager of BUMDes KMM, highlighted that seed selection was based on community needs and market potential.
Since the seeds were planted in November 2023, the groups harvested much. Th first harvest they got corn 4,2 tons per hectare, pepper about 0,75 ton per hectare, bitter melon about 25 tons per hectare, and watermelon about 11 tons per hectare. They were sold to Pasar Karang Mulya, Pangkalan Bun, and they used the money for they own need.
Also Read: Time to Increase Palm Oil Productivity without Expansion but Optimize Areas with Intercrops
“The harvests from the intercrops were sold by each smallholder to Pasar Karang Mulya. They used their own money,” he said, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from the page of Fortasbi, Friday (23/2/2024).
The intercrop is the important strategy for BUMDes KMM to optimize their palm oil plantations namely to solve unproductive areas in immature plants. Though there were challenges, such as, expensive fertilizers, it was nothing for the smallholders.
Sartono also took others to get smallholders replanting program like the institution did by taking advantages on the areas to escalate their income. Intercrop is about to maintain the area fertilizer and deliver income for smallholders namely when the plants are immature.
Intercrops is the same with regenerative agricultural concept to escalate plant diversity in the areas and the soil would remain good and the harvest would be more productive. By taking advantage on kinds of plants, nutrition needs in the soil would be optimally got and would create sustainable agriculture. (T2)
