Margahurip Young Farmer Bandung Strengthens Permaculture Farming Knowledge

The agricultural area in Margahurip Village, Bandung Regency, with 200 farmers and a limited 50 hectares of land, especially in Astaraja Hamlet, is highly dependent on the rainy season. Although Margahurip Village is crossed by a river, this does not ensure a continuous water supply. This situation is thought to occur due to a suboptimal irrigation system. Fighting over water often occurs between farmers. Another problem faced in the agricultural sector is farmer regeneration. The title of farmer is seen as an uncool job because Margahurip Village is close to industrial and residential areas in the city. Yet agricultural products are the main source of life for humans.

Another situation faced by farmers in Astaraja Hamlet and Margahurip Village in general is their heavy dependence on middlemen. This dependence occurs during both production and post-production. During production, many farmers struggle to obtain chemical fertilizers. Although the government provides fertilizer assistance to smallholders, not all farmers have access to subsidized fertilizers because they are already purchased by large farmers and middlemen. To facilitate fertilizer access, farmers must affiliate with middlemen. During the post-harvest period, farmers simply sell their crops to the middlemen at prices set by the middlemen. It's not uncommon for farmers to fail to profit from their agricultural endeavors.

New hope emerged from 10 young men and 7 women, children of farmers in Margahurip Village, who did not expect their agricultural lands to be transformed into housing complexes or industrial development. This group of young people is committed to preserving their agricultural land. They initiated permaculture agricultural education (agriculture in harmony with nature) to address farmers' primary problem of dependence on traders, increase their capacity to map environmental conditions, particularly regarding water carrying capacity, understand organic fertilizer production, and practice permaculture farming directly in half-hectare demonstration plots prepared in Astaraja and Alisenda Hamlets. Their activities were carried out under the guidance of the Citarum Community and Watershed Resource Center (a member of the WALHI West Java) especially in terms of developing educational materials.

With support Dana Nusantara, they succeeded in gradually increasing their understanding of permaculture agricultural production, although only limited to the application of organic fertilizer for 200 farmers in Margahurip. Specifically regarding Alisenda Hamlet, the RW Head and also the village government also protected springs resulting from participatory mapping, the knowledge of these young farmers also increased regarding how sustainable agricultural models are practiced in agricultural demonstration plots, especially in the Alisenda Hamlet location. Although there are still challenges related to the issue of farmer interest in fully implementing permaculture on agricultural land and the still lack of young farmers who are willing to get involved because of job opportunities in the industry. The practice is still ongoing, Margahurip farmers are replicating permaculture farming in their yard gardens and demonstration gardens covering an area of ​​6 tumbak or approximately 84 square meters. Solidarity among Margahurip farmers is also increasing to continue to jointly monitor the results of permaculture farming in their own yard gardens through community social activities.