Organic vegetable production in java - challenge for the chili growers

Abstract

Indonesia nowadays is in the modernization era, whereas lifestyle in consuming food is changed. The Indonesian want their food in good quality and save to consume. It means that the food should be produced following the rules of organic farming and environmental friendly. Organic vegetable has been known in Java in Indonesia, otherwise the farming practices do not widely apply. The organic vegetable production in Java started in 1984. Since then, the organic vegetable production has been growing and the number of organic growers increase. The growth of organic farming is happened because the farming directly connects to the captive market. Income of such organic growers increase. However, mostly chili growers in Java are still conducting conventional farming. The farmers feel that the organic vegetable productionis more complicated, expensive and of high risk. Farmers remain using pesticides even it is dangerous for their health and products. Chili markets in general do not differentiate between organic and non-organic one. Therefore, there are no incentives for the common organic chili farmers. However, the market for ‘Organic’-chilli is growing faster in urban regions in particular in some supermarkets there. Nevertheless, government supports are needed to accelerate the dissemination of organic technologies, solve the problems faced by farmers as well as supporting the marketing. In that way, the organic vegetable will increase the welfare of consumers and producers.