BELITUNG - The Aik Jelutung Farmers Group of Badau Village continues to exist utilizing PT Timah Tbk's ex-mining land in developing pineapple plantations.
For the past two years, the Aik Jelutung Farmers Group has been utilizing ex-mining land and empowering the community to grow pineapples on a pineapple plantation in Badau Village, Badau District, Belitung Regency.
As is well known, Badau Village is known as one of the best pineapple producers on Belitung Island.
PT Timah Tbk continues to support the Aik Jelutung Farmers Group in Badau Village in utilizing ex-mining land.
The Head of the Jelutung Water Farmers Group, Badau Suhari Village, said that for the past two years they have planted pineapples in two stages. In the first stage they used ex-mining land by covering the pit with new soil, but the results were not optimal.
Then, in the second stage they planted directly according to the soil structure, and the results were better.
"In the first stage it has produced fruit but some are not too big, but in the second stage it is quite large," said Suhari.
According to him, they always routinely fertilize the pineapple three times a year. So in the next stage they will plant the pineapple by following the soil structure so that they only clear the grass.
"So apart from the pineapple garden, we will also fill the former pit with tilapia so that it can have economic value later," he explained.
Suhari said, before last Ramadan they had harvested the pineapples.
"A total of about 7,500 ready-to-harvest fruits are ready to be harvested, and it's not all at once because we are naturally, so we retain the characteristic taste," he explained.
Then the harvest will be marketed in Tanjungpandan, they even have to refuse several orders because they are worried that the existing supply cannot meet consumer demand.
"Later it will be brought to Tanjungpandan and yesterday we also didn't take people's orders for fear that there wouldn't be enough fruit here," he said. (**)
