Badau Pineapple is a local pineapple from Belitung that has a distinctive taste, predominantly sweet with a dry flesh texture. The word Badau is taken from the name of the pineapple's area of origin, namely Badau District. In 2020, Badau Pineapple was recognized as a local variety with the name "Badau Belitong Pineapple" by the Ministry of Agriculture's Plant Variety Protection Center (PPVT).
This recognition confirms the position of Badau Pineapple as one of the local plant genetic resources (germplasm) Bangka-Belitung Province. Badau is famous as a center for pineapple plantations in Belitung. The Badau pineapple gardening culture has traditionally been carried out for generations by Badau farmers. However, the large number of other profession options means that pineapple plantation cultivation is increasingly being abandoned.
To preserve the Badau Pineapple as a genetic heritage of local plants while maintaining the world's biodiversity, conservation efforts are important to be carried out. One of the efforts to conserve the Badau Pineapple in-situ while encouraging improved land management comes from the Badau Village Bina Tani Group. The Badau Pineapple Cultivation Efforts managed collectively by 25 members of the Bina Tani Group are supported by Direct Funding from the Nusantara Fund.
The Badau Pineapple Cultivation Activity is carried out in six stages of activities. The first stage is planning and agreement for the development of Badau Pineapple as a local variety plant. This stage is carried out through a meeting of group members involving parties who can contribute to the implementation of the program. This meeting resulted in several agreements and understandings of planning, namely the division of tasks, preparation of work plans, and a schedule of activities for making Badau Pineapple cultivation land.
The second stage is pre-land clearing preparation which includes preparing equipment, seeds, basic fertilizer and other needs.
At this stage, the Bina Tani Group together with Walhi Bangka Belitung began to socialize the plan to create agricultural land with relevant stakeholders such as Field Agricultural Extension Workers, Pineapple Farmer Groups and the Center for Plant Variety Protection and Agricultural Licensing. Furthermore, in the third stage is land clearing. The Bina Tani Group uses excavator rental services managed by BumDes.
This land clearing activity lasted for four days. During the cleaning process, group members also carry out mutual cooperation activities in tidying up the land and preparing basic fertilizer so that the land is ready to be planted according to the plan. The fourth stage is seeding.
Breeding is carried out by taking offspring from harvested broodstock. This process was carried out on several pineapple farming lands belonging to the community in Badau Village. While waiting for the availability of seeds, group members worked together to plant vegetables around the agricultural land.
In the fifth stage, planting is carried out using the tugal method, namely making a hole in the ground with a sharp wooden stick and then the plant seeds will be inserted into the hole. Several obstacles were faced during this activity, such as seeds that were not yet available so they had to wait for the availability of seeds first. Some plant seeds were stunted, wilted and died.
In addition, the vulnerability of plants to pest attacks such as Rats, Squirrels, Monkeys and Wild Boars. Therefore, in the sixth stage, maintenance is carried out by replanting dead, stunted, wilted and pest-infested plant seedlings, as well as monitoring plant growth. The installation of nets is carried out to anticipate pest attacks.
Thanks to the cooperation of all members, stakeholders, and WALHI Bangka Belitung, now has a 1 Ha Badau Pineapple cultivation area. Land management is carried out collectively by 25 members of the Badau Village Farmer Development Group. The process that is carried out together also opens up space for sharing information between farmers in Badau Village. This collective process also fosters collective awareness among the Badau Village community in managing and maintaining local wisdom as well as being an effort to mitigate horizontal conflict between communities. Hopefully, initiatives like this will bring wider and ongoing benefits.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Our program will include: | Development of Badau Pineapple as a Local Variety Plant in Order to Encourage Improved Land Management |
Activity: | Land Use Training and Mapping |
Location: | Badau Village, District. Badau District. Belitung Province Bangka Belitung |
Implementation: | 01 to 31 December 2022 |
Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities: | Badau Village Farmer Development Group |
keyword: | Plasma Nutfah; Biodiversity; Babel; People's Managed Area |
Direct Funding | Rp. 35.000.000, - |
Nusantara Fund Long Term Targets: | Development of fair and sustainable production, distribution and consumption models in accordance with IPLC principles. |