IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES FOR CHILI CULTIVATION IN CENTRAL JAVA,

INDONESIA: FARMERS PERCEPTION AND IMPACTS*

J. Mariyono1, M. Bhattarai2, R. Suherman3
1

AVRDC-The World Vegetable Centre, Project Office, Tegal, Indonesia,

mrjoko28@gmail.com
2

AVRDC-The World Vegetable Centre, Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan,

madhu.bhattarai@worldveg.org

Indonesian Vegetable Research Institute, Lembang, Bandung, Indonesia,

rsuherman_12@yahoo.com

This study evaluates and assesses improved production technologies on chili introduced in
Central Java province of Indonesia. Chili (Capsicum annum) is one of the most important
cash crops in Indonesia. Within Indonesia, Central Java is largest chili-producing province
and more than 50% of its production is concentrated in regions of Brebes and Magelang. Chili
cultivation practices followed in Magelang is different from that of Brebes resulting due to
different soil types and water control measures followed. Current chili farming practices in
both regions tend to be less sustainable because of high level of agrochemicals use. In
Magelang, a package of technologies, consisting of border plantings of Crotalaria sp., and
application of botanical pesticides, was targeted for reducing incidence of whitefly
transmitted geminiviruses (WTG), which is the most important disease in chili farming. In
Brebes, a package of technologies consisting of compost, rice straw mulching and biopesticides was targeted to address soil (and water) borne diseases such as Phytophthora wilt.
Such technologies have been introduced to eight farmers groups (four in each site) led by
farmer innovators and early adopters. During a cropping season of chili, the farmers groups
were actively involved in conducting field trials, guided by a team of researchers. Following
the field trials, farmers applied and assessed the technologies on their own lands. This study is
based on the perception of such farmers. The results show that farmers were impressed with
the technologies. After applying the technologies, farmers in Magelang and Brebes could
reduce synthetic pesticides by around 18% and 8% respectively. In Brebes, the technology
was able to substitute 20% of inorganic fertilizers with compost. The productivity increased
by 15% in Magelang and 20% in Brebes, and importantly, the economic return in both regions
increased by 20%. Farmers convinced that the technologies would be adopted widely by other
farmers in the communities because the technologies do not conflict with local norms, and are
easily observable and transferable to other farmers. Materials supporting the technologies are
locally accessible and available.
*) Paper abstract accepted for oral presentation at ISHS conference on Sustainable vegetable
production in South East Asia 14 - 17 March 2011, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. The full paper
(draft) is available from the first and second authors, upon request.