Commitments of Practitioners and Businessmen to Suppres the Importation of Horticultural Products
Indonesia imports of horticultural products increased around 10 percent every year, last year its total amount of holticultural products reached to 1.4 million tons and increased into 1.6 million tons that worth Rp 7.3 trillion. National Horticulture Board (DHN), Mr. Gun Soetopo, was very regretful with such status as many of horticultural products imported are contaminated by pesticides. "Ten types of fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides are: strawberry, apple, spinach, potatoes, cherries, grapes, sweet peppers, peaches, celery, and blueberry. In the United States, they are recognized to contain high pesticide, "said Mr. Gun, the common name for man who usually wears the white hat, in the Horticultural Business Outlook Seminar for Tourism Indonesia, on Friday, 30 March 2012, at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). This seminar is part of a series of Expo 2012 The 6th Agrinex ‘Agribusiness for All’ which was joinlty held between Bogor Agricultural University, Performax and the Ministry of Agriculture.
This is a common challenge for holticultural practitioners and domestic hotels and restaurant businessmen. "It takes cooperation between the hotel and restaurant businessmen horticultural practitioners in reducing the imported horticultural products which are contaminated by pesticides. In addition, it will also increase consumer confidence, boasting the Indonesian horticultural products, and will increase both farmers’ prosperities and income of the people of Indonesia, "said Mr. Gun.
As the practitioner of horticulture, Mr. Gun had ups and downs in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. He tried to anticipate the horticultural products of his garden which is low residue, with the most reasonable prices. For example, dragon fruit, in the first time he promoted such new fruit to consumers, they do not like to accept it as it has plain and a bit sour taste. Then Mr. Gun implemented various experiments in order to obtain the most suitable dragon fruit. "My dragon fruit is now very demanded. Regulalry I put Rp 20.000/kg price, and it is saleable, even when he put Rp 50.000,-/kg it is still affordable. Wherease for other merchants, even they put Rp 10.000,-/kg for their dragon fruit, but they unsaleable, "stated Mr. Gun.
To approach the market and introduce dragon fruit, Mr. Gun initially sells horticultural products to consumers depending to their favourite fruits, for example, he sells grape for consumers of Magelang as it is their favourite, he sells apple for people in Malang, and so forth. After serving quite long time, the consumers begin to enquery the new fruit Mr. Gun offers. .
Alumni of Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) batch 14 is noted to have cool hands. With a touch of technology, Mr. Gun turned the rocky and dry lands in the various regions into the fertile and productive lands. "Sometimes we stick to think that horticultural crops should be planted in the fertile lands only. It is a wrong opinion. For me, the most important of all is that the lands should be with winds, they are good for planting. There won’t be any problem even less water in those areas, "he said.
To encourage horticulture and tourism business, the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economic Affairs, Mr. Sapta Nirwandar stated that cooperation between horticultural practitioners, tourism businessmen, the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Tourism and the Creative Economy jointly organized cultural events and folk festivals to attract more tourists. This events will be integrated with the harvesting of fruits and local vegetables. "In the developed countries the horticultural entrepreneurs periodically organize special tours, let’s say harvest tours where tourists enjoy harvesting fruits or vegtables. The benefits of of such program, on one side of the harvest costs will be reduced, and on the other side the income of the businessmen will increase, "Sapta said. In addition, other promotion of our herbal products, special local drinks and handicrafs which will be utilized as a souvenir or a gift to foreign countries. Certainly those products should be of high quality, with internationally standards packaging.
In this occassion, Vice Chairman of the Association of Hotel and Restaurant Indonesia (PHRI), Mr. Riyanto Sofyan added that the tourism industry and horticulture businesses are able to work together in developing their business, as in reality both of them are mutualistic symbiosis business in enhancing their compatativeness. "The concern of the government, retail businesses and other stakeholders involved in the development of brand equity of the Indonesian horticulture shoud be synergized to support tourism, trade and investment," he said. (Wied).
