Farmers in Bandung’s Story of Success in Planting Kenya Beans to Reach the Singapore Market Page all

BANDUNGKOMPAS.com – For many years, Gugun Gunawan (40) has managed one hectare of land in Panjalu Village, Cilengkrang District, Kabupaten Panjalu BandungWest Java, for growing French beans or Kenyan Beans.

At first glance, there is no difference between French beans and the beans sold in the market.

“What distinguishes the most from the size of the tree, these short French beans are 50 cm high, none of them are up to 1 meter high. The result is also called a baby, if the normal one is tall,” he said when met by Kompas.com, Sunday ( 3/7/2022).

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Significant thing that differentiates Kenyan chickpeas or French beans with local chickpeas, lies in the taste and resilience of the chickpeas.

“Then from the taste it is more crispy, the quality is durable, if the local ones are sorry, there are always different ones and they don’t last long,” he said.

Treatment process Kenyan chickpeas, said Gugun, not so difficult. The harvesting process only takes 60 days.

“Maintenance is also light. Price too Praise be to God above average. From treatment, it was only given 5 times of medicine, then given supplements and nutrition 4 times,” he said.

While local chickpeas can be harvested within 3 months, Kenyan chickpeas can be harvested twice a week.

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Once harvested, for one hectare of land it can reach one or two quintals, depending on the number of plantings.

Although he cultivates one hectare of land, he only grows half a hectare of Kenyan chickpeas.

“Now it’s only half of it, because it’s pretty good when it comes to harvesting. Now 3 people are working on it,” he said.

In addition, the fertilizer used for the treatment of Kenya beans or French beans can be with organic fertilizers.

“Coincidentally, it’s also organic here, there are organic products, we also happen to be creative with regards to organic fertilizers,” he said.

By far, the most difficult challenge in caring for Kenyan chickpeas is the weather. If it continues to rain, the crop will fail. Pests are also quite influential.

Market Break Singapore

Currently, the beans planted by Gungun have penetrated the Singapore market. But he only planted, while the distributor did the packaging.

The price, he continued, reached Rp. 30,000 per kg, up from the previous Rp. 25,000 per kg.

But the price is not certain. Although the price is above local beans, the price of Kenyan beans has also fallen to Rp. 7,000 per kg.

“If French beans are stable at a price of Rp. 15,000 to Rp. 20,000, it is already stable. Once at a price of Rp. 7,000,” he said.

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Regarding the unstable price of vegetables, making him and farmer others complain and are overwhelmed.

“We’re tired, we’re hot, it’s raining but the government doesn’t pay attention, the simplest thing is a stable price,” he complained.

Gugun hopes, with the existence of Kenyan beans that penetrate the world market. The government can come up with concrete evidence.

“Yes, it is hoped that the government can attend to pay attention to small farmers, provide capital, provide networks, instead of taking care of established farmers,” he concluded.

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