Australia Indonesia Partnership Program works together with PT Garuda Food Putra Putri Jaya under Smallholders Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI). Garuda Food is expected to provide peanut seeds to the farmers, technical assistance and give market guarantee.

The program is expected to increase farmers’ incomes by giving them the opportunity to reduce operating costs and improve the quality and quantity of their production.
“Farmers are expected to produce approximately 12,500 tons of fresh raw peanuts per harvest and sell them to a guaranteed buyer – Garuda Food”, said Giri Arnawa from SADI.

SADI, according to Giri is designed to deal with the issue related to agriculture production and poverty in rural area in Eastern Indonesia, where agriculture is the main source of economy growth but ironically its growth and productivity are low.

The first stage of the program will last for 3.5 years started from mid 2006 to end of 2009 with area of works of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South East Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.

On Tuesday (13/5), the program is officially opened by the Governor of NTB, H.L. Serinata. The opening ceremony was marked by peanuts harvesting in Pedek Valley, Akar Akar Village, Bayan Sub-district, West Lombok.

Blair Exell, head of AusAID in Indonesia said, this partnership will increase farmers’ income in NTB. “Farmers’ income will significantly improve and contribute to local economic growth. I am pleased Australia’s partnership with the Government of Indonesia is able to contribute to so many local communities in Lombok,” said Blair through a translator.

Bruce Wise, Program Manager of International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, one of the SADI’s partner said the opportunity to develop peanut in NTB is significant. “NTB has the potency to be a major competitive supplier of peanuts for the Indonesian snack food industry.  We expect that Garuda Food’s experience with smallholder supply chain development will demonstrate the economic value of building durable linkages between smallholder farmers and lead firms” he said.

SADI is implemented in Indonesia through 3 partners PNPM, IFC and ACIAR. The head of AusAID, Blair Exell, Program Manager of IFC, Bruce Wise, Program Manager of ACIAR Peter Horne and Program Manager of PNPM Bakir Ali were also presented during the peanut harvesting.

Hartono Atmadja, Managing Director of Garuda Food said Garuda Food chose NTB as one of the base for peanut development in the partnership with PNPM, IFC and ACIAR because NTB is the biggest supply base of peanuts outside Java.

“To strengthened linkages with the peanut farmers, Garuda Food is actively develop partnership system with mutual benefit,” he said

Peanut Production in NTB is Very Low

Production in NTB is still dominated by smallholder farmers with farming area of 0.4-0.5hectar in average and productivity of 1.2ton per hectare. “The average of peanuts production per year reaches 45,000tons or 6% of the total of national production. Total farming area reaches 35,000hectares” said Governor of NTB Drs. H. L. Serinata in Akar Akar Village, Bayan Sub district, West Lombok, Tuesday.

In this perspective, the development of peanut is a strategic alternative to increase agriculture productivity in general.

The development of agriculture commodity is relevant in facing the world’s unfortunate circumstances of increasing food prices that lead to food crises.