Liberica Coffee Cultivation Training on Peatland

Amidst the increasing need for agricultural products and the threat of climate change, optimizing peatland for sustainable agriculture is an important step to meet needs while maintaining ecosystem sustainability. How can we utilize peatland for agriculture without sacrificing its sustainability, considering the crucial role of peatland in mitigating climate change?

We know that peatland, which stores carbon reserves, is considered marginal land that is difficult to manage, but with the right approach, peatland can be maximized without damaging it for agriculture that provides financial benefits while maintaining environmental sustainability.

Yayasan Gambut, as an institution focused on sustainable agriculture development, considers the importance of optimizing community knowledge and skills in managing and utilizing peatland in the community's living area. It's not just about looking at the form of agriculture and the type of plants that are suitable for planting, but Yayasan Gambut also facilitates the results of agriculture to become a sustainable supply chain and market chain that is also expected to be financially sustainable for the community.

Liberica Coffee Seed Propagation Technique Training in Temiang Village

Temiang Village has natural conditions and a peat ecosystem that are suitable for the development of Liberica coffee, which can grow well in peatland. Currently, Liberica coffee has a significant special market in Riau Province and surrounding areas. However, its productivity has not been able to meet market demand. The limitation found by Yayasan Gambut is the limited knowledge and skills of local communities in propagating coffee seeds. Based on field findings, several farmers are still using inefficient methods, so the seeding process is not optimal, both in terms of quality and quantity of seeds. This condition affects the productivity of coffee fruits in the future.

Speaker, Dr. M. Amrul Khoiri SP., MP., C.APO is giving an in-depth explanation of the Liberica coffee seed propagation method

This training was held as a form of response to the challenges and problems found, by involving academics from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Riau, the training method was divided into two sessions. In the first session, participants, who are generally community members, were given theory as a basic understanding that includes generative and vegetative seed propagation techniques, seed selection, soil preparation, seeding, to good seed care. In this session, participants were emphasized to be very selective in choosing high-quality seeds to produce plants with strong roots and good resistance. Participants also gained in-depth understanding of nursery management and strategies to increase Liberica coffee harvest yields more efficiently and sustainably.

Field practice guided by speaker Joni Irawan, S.P., M.Si, is explaining good coffee seed care

In the second session, participants carried out practices as previously explained in the first session, participants were directly taught how to prepare good seeds and then made improvements to the existing nursery at the Kelompok Tani Wanita Makmur Jaya seed house. Participants were also taught to propagate seeds through grafting methods if they have Liberica coffee parent plants that are old enough to be used for grafting. After the practice was carried out, it was followed by an interactive discussion session and evaluation of the practice results.

Mulyadi as the Director of Yayasan Gambut believes that the reason why Liberica coffee plants are an issue in the development of sustainable agriculture on peatlands is that this agriculture no longer needs to open new land for its process, by utilizing existing gardens such as rubber, coconut or palm oil, Liberica coffee can be developed with an agroforestry scheme, which has double benefits in one available land, besides that, the absence of land opening is one form of reducing the threat to the existence of remaining peatlands. Mulyadi also added that with this training, it is expected that the participants can apply the knowledge they have obtained for the seedling process in the future as a form of encouraging productivity and maintaining the ecosystem's sustainability in their region.