East Java Tourism News

East Javanese farmer goes exotic with pepinos

May 9th, 2007

Never judge a person or a plant by their name. The same goes for their relatives.

If you have such prejudices it’s unlikely you’d encounter petite pepino because some members of her family (with a name like pepino she has to be female), sound a mite distasteful.

There’s Cannibal’s Tomato, Fruta de Lobo (which translates as “fruit of wolves” and is doubtless a howling success among canines) and Ashwagandha. This, as we all know, is Sanskrit for Horse’s Smell.

However, not all the Solanaceae cousins are sour and malodorous: Nipple Fruit should be tasty indeed, and I have to report pepino is well worth a suck, more like a melon with substance and style, squishy but not so watery.

She may also be just the fruit they’re looking for in Batu, East Java, where an innovative farmer thinks he may have found a sleeping princess to waken the local economy.

Loyal readers of the Java Brew pages may recall a story last December that told of the demise of apple growing in Batu.

Apples have been the icon industry of the hill town 20 kilometers outside Malang for more than 70 years. No longer. The old, high-maintenance Dutch-planted varieties are now considered too tough for modern tastes, and Chinese imports are undercutting the local market.

So farmers like Suroto have been bulldozing their apple trees and looking for alternative crops. Many have gone into the flower trade, selling exotics for suburban gardens and blooms to florists — but they really want something edible to replace apples.

“Competition is acute and we need to diversify,” Suroto said. “I bought Euphorbia (also known as spurge and poinsettia) from Thailand, but these flowers are now popular and being widely grown.

“So I did some research on the Internet and found the South American fruit pepino,” said the 45-year-old farmer.

“On a trip to Bogor (West Java) to look at the horticultural industry, I got some seeds. These have taken well though it’s better propagated from cuttings.

“I hope that we can now get a new product onto the market.”

Suroto has about 2,000 pepino plants growing in plastic sleeves. Although only four months old they’re already producing. Together with some colleagues, he’s trying to get other farmers to take an interest.

He said they’d had no help from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“We’re waiting to see what happens,” said a ministry official. “Later, we may get involved.”

“Farmers are notoriously conservative, but not all of us sit around when there are downturns in horticulture, waiting for something to fall from heaven,” Suroto said.

“I was attracted to pepino because of its medicinal properties. I know the markets today are looking for safe and healthy food, preferably organic, so we have to follow the trends.

“The people of Batu are self-reliant. We’re always thinking of how we can improve. This is an ideal location for pepino.”

Maybe — it’s also a top spot for apples and with good management, can yield two crops a year. But farmers’ failure to upgrade with new varieties and market the product properly has led to its demise.

Climate, soil and green fingers aren’t enough — packaging and promotion are also critical in the fickle fruit industry.

The current retail price for pepinos puts them on a par with the local Manalagi apples, at about Rp 15,000 (US$1.60) a kilogram.

Although the bushes are hardy, the fruit is delicate and doesn’t travel well. It’s unlikely to become an export product unless great care is taken with sorting and packing.

The way crops are grown in Batu is extraordinary and has created a fascinating environment that delights. Houses have been built close together on slopes and the town is more like a big kampong than a village.

Batu is about 600 meters above sea level and it’s wise to always have an umbrella handy.

It seems that if you aren’t growing something exotic, you’re not a native. There are so many potted plants on the ground, squatting on racks, hanging from metal and bamboo frames, that every square centimeter is covered in color.

The boom in blooms has led many to use footpaths and kerbsides to propagate. Banners promoting tobacco pollute streetscapes elsewhere in Indonesia, but Batu is one great nursery and has no need to advertise toxins.

Backyard plots are only a few square meters but often hold 20 or more different varieties. There’s little free room. City shops selling fragile goods often carry signs: “If you break, you buy”.

Should Batu continue to carpet the concrete with green, there’ll soon be a need for a similar warning: You trample pots, you pay.

“We have to promote tourism here, and I hope that pepino will add to the attraction,” said Suroto. “I want Batu to become world famous not just for its flowers, but also its fruits.

“I think we can make this a new Garden of Eden.”

Duncan Graham, Contributor, Malang, E. Java
Source : The Jakarta Post

Entry Filed under: East Java News