The Pekalongan Regency Government currently is developing its nature potential, i.e. green tea of Paninggaran District, which grows in a mountainous area above 1,000 meters above sea level. The following is Suara Merdeka journalist Nur Khaeruddin reporting it in two series starting today.
AFTER coffee from Petungkriyono District, Pekalongan Regency, was successfully developed as a product for the City of Santri, now green tea from Paninggaran District, Pekalongan Regency is also being developed by the Regency Government as well as making product packaging as attractive as possible so that it becomes a favourite for the people of Pekalongan and its surroundings. Even now it is able to penetrate the West Java market.
The existence of tea plantations in Santri City, included in Paninggaran District which has mountainous land contours reaching 850-1,300 meters above sea level (masl) is very suitable for the development of green tea. In the district, since 2014, the Paninggaran Berdikari Makmur Cooperative (KSU) has been established, as a forum for farmers to develop tea production.
At the beginning, farmers sold only tea leaves, then they upgraded it to a tea product and since the last year they have been marketing packaged product to the West Java market. Although there are several types of tea, namely black, red, and green, the prominent product of Paninggaran tea is green tea, and another advantage is that tea is really picked from the tip of the tea plant.
Amazed
Even the Regent of Pekalongan, Asip Kholbihi, during a visit to the cooperative, admitted that he was very impressed, and did not expect that the products from the area he led were good and had good taste, so that they would be specially developed, with the help of the Pekalongan Regency Government. “This Paninggaran green tea has a very unique taste, unlike the tea we usually buy in the market.
The aroma is fragrant, the taste of the tea is delicious, and this is the result of natural wealth in our own area, made by farmers in Pekalongan Regency,” said the regent. The Chairperson of KSU Berdikari Makmur, Khalwani said, the embryo of the establishment of the KSU Paninggaran Berdikari Makmur Tea Processing Unit, began with the emergence of a tea farmer association in Paninggaran in 2014.
Furthermore, they received assistance from the Jateng Berdikari Foundation, Business Watch Indonesia (BWI), and the Pekalongan Regency Government. “We, with the Jateng Berdikari Foundation and the assistance of BWI, provided assistance to tea farmers in 10 villages, namely Paninggaran, Sawangan, Krandegan, Lumeneng, Tanggeran, Bedagung, Kaliboja, Botosari, Lambanggelun and Tenogo Villages. Around 300 farmers have joined the cooperative, with a land area of 400 hectares,” he said.
Then, with the help of tea processing equipment from the Ministry of Industry, KSU Paninggaran Berdikari Makmur is able to produce premium green tea, at a price of IDR 50 thousand per kilogram.
“For the time being we have only received a few orders, one quintal a month that we have an MoU with. The others, we don’t have the courage to cooperate, because our first focus is on improving the land for improving tea cultivation, so that tea shoots are available from farmers, and then cooperative dare to make a deal with buyers,” said Khalwani.
For now, green tea production is only around 25-30 kilograms per day. For marketing, apart from local, the cooperative’s green tea has been able to penetrate markets in Bandung, Jakarta and its surroundings. So, it is hoped that there are investors who can work with farmers, to bail out fertilizer and be paid after harvest.
Source: https://www.suaramerdeka.com/smcetak/baca/77990/asli-pucuk-teh-tembus-pasaran-jawa-barat
