Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said he had inaugurated the Smallholders Tea Factory “Iroet” in Cisaat, Sukatani Village, Cilawu District, Garut, West Java. According to him, smallholders tea “Iroet” is expected to reduce farmers’ dependence on (large) factory owners. “As well as increasing revenue from the added value of the tea products produced,” he told Tempo. According to Bayu, the establishment of the smallholder tea “Iroet” marked the first time tea farmers in Indonesia owned and managed their own factory.
Smallholders tea “Iroet” is the first of 20 similar factories to be built in West Java and Central Java – the largest tea-producing regions in Indonesia. “This people’s tea factory is a best practice for companies in helping farmers and rural communities,” he said.
Currently, said Bayu, most tea farmers are still producers of raw materials. They do not have a dry tea processing unit. In fact, 46 percent of the tea plantation area is owned by smallholders. While the income from this business is not small. The Indonesian Tea Association noted that in 2009, tea contributed US$ 110 million to the country’s foreign exchange. However, the results are not enjoyed by local tea farmers who have not produced added value.
Smallholders’ tea factory “Iroet” is owned by the Multipurpose cooperative (KSU) Putera Mekar. KSU Putera Mekar consists of 454 tea farmers in Garut who own a tea plantation of 406.51 hectares. KSU Putera Mekar is the second smallholder’s tea cooperative that has received UTZ certificate in the world and the first one in Indonesia. The UTZ certificate is an international sustainable certification that pays attention to good agricultural practices (GAP) as well as social aspects to bring farmers to increase product quality and quantity.
The Iroet Tea Factory has a production capacity of 8.5 tons of wet shoots per day from tea farmers who are also cooperative members, so they can produce 50 tons of dry tea per month. Apart from producing it themselves, KSU Putera Mekar also trades 50 tonnes of dry tea per month. In total, KSU Putera Mekar manages 100 tons of dry tea per month or 1.2 tons of dry tea per year which is equivalent to US$ 1.62 million.
Source: https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/571843/petani-teh-garut-kini-punya-pabrik-sendiri
