SOUTH BANGKA -- The price of chili in the Bangka Belitung Archipelago Province is fluctuating, even to meet the chili needs of the people they still depend on other provinces. To increase the productivity of chili farming in Bangka Belitung, especially in South Bangka, PT Timah Tbk provided training for the Paku Village community which was held at the Paku Village Sports Hall, Payung District, South Bangka Regency, Thursday (24/8/2023).
The training, which was held by PT Timah Tbk, was attended by dozens of residents of Paku Village and the Sinar Baru Farmers Group Association (Gapoktan). They seemed enthusiastic to listen to the material from the instructor.
The chairman of the Sinar Baru Gapoktan, Amir Mukimin said, they were very happy to receive chili cultivation training from PT Timah Tbk. The reason is, that this training is very important to broaden their horizonsVery supportive of Gapoktan Sinar Baru, because so far we only have the reckless capital to farm these chilies.
"Hopefully, with this training, we will know more about how to plant and care for chilies, so that we can get maximum results. Because so far we have only been determined to farm chilies, because there is no knowledge about chili farming," he said.
So, it's no wonder he said their chili farming results were not satisfactory because of a lack of knowledge.
"From the training we attended earlier, he said that one clump of chili plants normally can be one kilo and a half. Meanwhile, what we have so far only planted around 7 ounces of one clump. This means that it is only 50% of the standard because we realize that knowledge and knowledge we are still lacking. We hope, with this training, we can care for and of course harvest chilies with maximum results," he explained.
Currently, he said, there are about 10 hectares of land that they have planted with chilies managed by around 12 farmer groups. In one farmer group, there are also around 7-10 members.
"The average yield of chilies is around 200-300 kilos per week. Now for the income itself, it depends on the price, because this price is uncertain. Sometimes IDR 40,000 to IDR 50,000 rupiah. We even once sold it for the highest price of Rp. 125,000. At that time, my friends were all excited, apart from that, the price often dropped to Rp. 18,000, so if conditions like this fit, all of my friends will be down," he explained.
He is very grateful that PT Timah Tbk can facilitate these activities for them. He also motivated the Pokdakan to continue to actively run the chili farming business. Moreover, after receiving training it can increase the productivity of agricultural products.
"We feel very useful with this training because there is a lot of knowledge and knowledge that we can learn," he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Paku Bahtiar Village Effendi said that this kind of training was the first time for its citizens.
"Alhamdulillah, we are very happy with this training. Hopefully, with this training, our intention to make Paku Village a chili center in South Bangka can be achieved," he said.
In the future, he hopes that PT Timah Tbk can assist in providing knowledge about marketing and management. So that farmers can enjoy maximum results.
Not only that, he hopes his training will not only be limited to chili commodities. But also other types of agriculture such as horticultural crops.
"This is the first time our residents have received training, of course, we are very grateful for the help and support provided by PT Timah to our residents," he said. (**)
