Optimising the productivity of the potato/Brassica cropping system in Central and West Java

The project aims to develop potato and Brassica production and post harvest systems in the provinces of West and Central Java. The temperate climate of the highlands enables predominantly small scale farmers to grow potatoes and brassicas as cash crops. Demand for potatoes from nearby countries, the domestic ware market and processors in Indonesia is increasing reflecting growing per capita incomes, population growth and westernisation of tastes. In response to this opportunity the Government of Indonesia has been focusing on improving the yield and quality of potatoes and Brassicas, which are grown in rotation. This project builds on the previous work of the project partners and other institutions from Indonesia and Australia.
The project contract was signed in May 2006 however problems with obtaining sign off from Indonesian partners delayed the project commencement. In August 2006 the Australian project partners met in Bunbury, Western Australia for a day to discuss project management and technical issues. There have been 3 subsequent video conferences linking all Australian partners.
The project commenced with an inception workshop and farm visits from 10 - 15 September 2006 hosted by IVEGRI in Lembang West Java. The workshop provided the first opportunity for all partners to meet. Presentations were provided by Australian and Indonesian partners on previous projects and the components of the project and organisational responsibilities were defined. The baseline survey aim, design, data for collection and statistical analysis requirements was discussed and agreed upon. The training component of the project was also covered focusing on the development of the Train the Trainers and Farmer Field School work plans.
The baseline survey commenced with training provided for Indonesian counterparts by Peter Dawson and Fiona Goss (Youth Ambassador from DAFWA) in November 2006 at IVEGRI and provincial Dinas Pertanian offices in Central and West Java. The training focused on how to collect, store and transport soil and leaf petiole samples. The baseline survey commenced in West Java in December 2006 but was delayed until February 2007 in Central Java due to delayed planting and/or revised rotation of the wet season crops. Visits have been made by Dr Ian McPharlin (Agronomist), Dr Roger Jones (Virologist), Dr. Michael Furlong and Dr. Peter Ridland (both entomologists) and Dr. Dolf De Boer (Plant pathologist) to provide training to survey enumerators on specific components of the baseline survey.
At the Inception Workshop the Indonesian counterparts confirmed the presence of Potato and Golden Cyst Nematode (PCN) in Indonesia. PCN was first observed in Indonesia in 2003 and was probably imported with seed from Europe. Whilst there are no formal results yet from the project's baseline survey the pest and disease management experts on the team were also struck by the potential for sustainability problems with the production system. The continuous cropping of potatoes (up to 3 crops per annum) at high elevations in Central Java poses a threat to the system. IVEGRI is working with a number of Universities to investigate the scale of the problem in Indonesia and the Indonesian government have provided of large quantities of nematicide. The opportunity exists for the project to provide assistance determining the extent of the infestation through soil surveys and formulating systems to minimise the spread of the pest through on-farm hygiene and the development of appropriate seed distribution policies, quarantine, rotations and resistant varieties.
The only data received from the survey so far is agronomic data from West Java that is currently being analysed in Australia.
In January 2007 Elske van de Fliert visited the project partners to co-ordinate the development of workplans for the implementation of province-level Training of Trainers events and Farmer Field Schools. The commencement of the initial TOT event has been delayed from April to May 2007 awaiting the data from the baseline survey.
Indonesian candidates for short term entomology and plant pathology training in Australia have been identified at IVEGRI and Dinas Pertanian West and Central Java and training programs are under development.
A census designed for WA export seed potato growers to assess the quality of export seed through the supply chain commenced in April 2007. Measurements of potato seed tuber handling were taken using an instrumented sphere with temperature and humidity data loggers.
CIP have not taken part in the project to date as the role of CIP in Indonesia is currently under review and the Asian regional office may be moved to China.

The project aims to develop potato, Brassica and allium (shallot) production and post harvest systems in the provinces of West Java, Central Java, South Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara Barat. The temperate highland climate in these provinces enables predominantly small scale growers to grow potatoes, brassicas and alliums as cash crops. Domestic demand for ware and processing potatoes and regional demand primarily for processing potatoes is seeing potatoes becoming an increasingly important crop throughout Indonesia. Accordingly the Indonesian government and donors such as ACIAR are funding research, development and extension work to support the development of potatoes and rotational crops.

The project document was signed in May 2006 and the project initiation workshop was held in September 2006. Delays to the commencing the baseline survey due to late rains have led to the project running approx. 6- 8 months behind schedule.

A project variation was signed in February 2008 to expand the project to include the provinces of South Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB). These provinces are small producers of vegetables in comparison to West and Central Java however there are opportunities to increase potato/Brassica/allium production significantly. PT Indofood Fritolay are looking to expand potato production in Lombok and Lombok, if it proven to be free of Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN), has the potential to supply high quality seed to the rest of Indonesia.

Work on the variation commenced in May 2008 when Peter Dawson (DAFWA) and John Marshall (Independent Consultant) visited NTB, South Sulawesi and Central Java to commence the PCN survey. Training was supplied to counterparts and farmers in PCN survey techniques and applied farm biosecurity methods.

The original project design had Training of Trainer (ToT) activities being undertaken over a full production season however the duration was revised down to 12 days, reflecting the available budget. ToT activities, training groups of 20, were undertaken from 29 August - 9 September in West Java and 5 - 16 November 2007 in Central Java. The curriculum taught by trainers is based on the Indonesian version of the CIP/FAO manuals for potato IPM. The material taught to farmers is being improved by team members from Australia and Indonesia drawing on previous research experience and on the results of the baseline survey for potato crop 1 which were available in time to be incorporated into the curriculum. A complete curriculum will only be developed once the results of the baseline survey and follow on trials are available.

Integrated crop management Farmer Field School (FFS) were established in 10 communities in West Java and 10 communities in Central Java. The FFS commenced in November 2007 in West Java and March 2008 in Central Java.

In November 2007 Rini Murtiningsih, Entomologist with IVEGRI commenced a 1 month training period with the University of Queensland. The training focused on increasing her entomological skills and planning entomological activities for the rest of the project

The crop management and economic baseline survey for the first potato crop was completed and analysed. The first potato crop was grown over the 2006/07 wet season from November 2006 to March 2007. Soil and plant nutrient data support the conclusion that micro element toxicity due to soil acidification is contributing to significant yield loss in both provinces.

The economics baseline survey examined the relationship between variables such as yields, scale, pesticide and fertiliser use and gross margin returns for growers. Profitability is sensitive to the cost and performance of seed, fertiliser and pesticides which make up 75% of costs, there is a negative relationship between pesticide expenditure and gross margin, additional expenditure on fertilisers leads to increased yields. There is a need to conduct further work into the financial benefits of additional fertiliser expenditure. There was no significant correlation between seed expenditure and seed source and gross margin. Further work is required in this area.

The second baseline survey was carried out on the cabbage crop grown in 2007 after the harvest of the potatoes in March/April. The collection of data on growing practices and conditions by enumerators and results from laboratory samples of soils and plant material was complete in most cases. Yield was seen to be correlated to soil pH and planting density.

The baseline survey work was supported by Andrew Taylor, Plant Pathologist with DAFWA. Andrew spent 5 months working with IVEGRI in Lembang funded by the AusAID Youth Ambassador Program.

Supply chain systems work in Western Australia has focused on optimising harvesting and post harvest systems. An electronic tuber has been purchased and is being run through farmers' harvesters and grading lines to measure physical impact on tubers.