PAPUA – One of the biggest impacts of the Integrated Village Economic Transformation Program of the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration is the change in mindset of the assisted residents, in Siep Kosi Village, Walelagama District, Jayawijaya Regency, Papua Mountains for example, residents are willing to replace the habit of growing vegetables and sweet potatoes with dragon fruit as the main source of income.
Bandua Tabuni, Coordinator of the Papua Mountains Province of the Integrated Village Economic Transformation Program, revealed that in the past the community only grew sweet potatoes, but since there was intervention and assistance from the Integrated Village Economic Transformation Program for dragon fruit cultivation, income has increased dramatically, “These villagers are more eager to continue developing it,” said Bandua.
Bandua revealed that the Siep Kosi community initially only depended on vegetables and sweet potatoes as the main source of income. This condition began to change since dragon fruit was introduced as a new superior commodity that could boost the village economy, from research conducted by the Integrated Village Economic Transformation team, it was known that this village had soil fertility suitable for the development of dragon fruit type Hylocereus polyrhizus or red dragon fruit, “And it is true that it is proven that red dragons can thrive so that our village is currently a dragon fruit center in Jayawijaya Regency,” he said.
Bandua said that at first, dragon fruit was an unfamiliar commodity to the farmers of Siep Kosi Village, residents who were used to growing vegetables and sweet potatoes were hesitant to switch to dragon fruit cultivation, “However, thanks to intensive assistance and training from the Integrated Village Economic Transformation Program, the community began to accept this new challenge with high enthusiasm,” he said.
The farmers formed the Wiwekena farmer group to pioneer the development of dragon fruit cultivation in the village. They began planting dragon fruit in their yards and previously unutilized vacant land, “The results have proven to be encouraging and every year, the farmers of Siep Kosi Village can enjoy 6 to 8 harvests with maintained fruit quality,” Bandua said.
The selling price of dragon fruit, which is stable at IDR 50,000 per kilogram, is a big incentive for the community to continue developing this cultivation and with this profitable price, the income of the villagers who were previously only enough for their daily needs, has now increased significantly, “This success not only has an impact on the family’s economy, but also changes the image of the village which used to have minimal economic options to become a modern agricultural center,” he said.
Bandua said, dragon fruit from Siep Kosi Village has now been widely recognized in Jayawijaya Regency and surrounding areas, dragon fruit marketing is not only limited to traditional markets, but has also penetrated into provincial markets and several large shopping centers in the Papua Mountains region, “Siep Kosi Village is now a dragon fruit center in the region, and this success has inspired other villages to follow in their footsteps,” he said.
Bandua hopes that the Regional Government will see this great potential as an opportunity to develop the agricultural sector in the surrounding villages and one of the recommendations is to involve the Village-Owned Enterprises that have been formed in the village to manage dragon fruit marketing more professionally and in addition to improving marketing, further training is needed for Siep Kosi Village farmers, so that unsold fruit can be processed into products that have added value, “This will greatly help farmers not to lose money when prices drop,” he said.