Millennial Farmers Succeed Through Vegetable Cultivation

Photo: Doc. EWINDO

JAKARTA - In 2010, a 20-year-old youth chose a different path from his friends. Obur Bahtiar chose to stay in the village to become a vegetable farmer like his parents. In fact, for most of the younger generation in Indonesia, agriculture is no longer the main job that is coveted. However, For Obur Bahtiar to become a farmer has a strong appeal because of great economic opportunities and family traditions.

"The main reason I chose the farmer profession was because I saw the potential economic benefits that I could get. Especially with the support of natural resources in the area where I live and the background of families who also come from farmers," said Obur Bahtiar, who lives in Leuwigoong District, Garut Regency, West Java, quoted Monday, September 8.

At the beginning of becoming a farmer, he only managed about 1,000 m2 of land. Now, the area of vegetable crops has reached 10,000 m2 or one hectare, as a result of a combination of purchases from crops, land leases and family heritage land.

"At that time, I planted chili, tomatoes, cucumber, and beans," he recalled.

His ambition does not only stop there, he dreams of expanding the area so that the harvest increases, is able to attract young people in his village to dive into agriculture and create jobs for the surrounding community so that farmer regeneration occurs.

The latest agricultural census data shows a worrying trend related to farmer regeneration. How not, the agricultural sector is currently increasingly dominated by the elderly. Generation X (4358 years) accounts for 42.4 percent of farmers, followed by Baby Boomers (5977 years) by 27.6 percent. Meanwhile, millennial farmers (aged 2742 years) are only 25.6 percent and Generation Z (age 1126 years) is almost non-existent: only 2.1 percent. This makes clear that there is a big gap in regeneration.

This condition is also reflected in a decrease in the number of agricultural business units by 7.4 percent over the past decade. If in 2013 the number of agricultural business units was still around 31.7 million units, in 2023 the number fell to 29.36 million units. This decline was partly influenced by the transfer for rice fields to non-farm areas such as housing and infrastructure.

Another phenomenon is that farmers, who manage less than 0.5 hectares of land, will increase sharply to 16.89 million people by 2023. The small scale of business adds to productivity and welfare challenges.

However, for Obur Bahtiar, the regeneration of farmers is not just a dream. The encouragement of parents, supported by quality vegetable seeds and networks of fellow farmers helped him succeed in facing technical and business challenges. Through these supports, he made a strategy to adapt to climate change through information and technology, expansion of marketing networks, and wise financial management. This outline of strategy can change the paradigm that agriculture is not just a matter of legacy, but a promising professional effort.

Obur Bahtiar even aspires to establish an agricultural field school, as a place to pass on knowledge and increase the capacity of other young farmers. He also actively invites the younger generation through digital content and direct education about life on land.

: If my children want to become farmers, I want them to have higher education and become an agripreneur," he said firmly.

Not only in Garut - West Java, PT East West Seed Indonesia (EWINDO) as a provider of superior quality vegetable seeds, in a sustainable manner fostering millennial farmers in various regions, especially vegetable farming centers.

Through the Red Arrow Young Farmers program, many millennial farmers have been born as successful as in Lampung who succeeded in cultivating chili and North Medan-North Sumatra with melon commodities. However, in order for the regeneration dream to be real, synergy is needed from stakeholders including access to capital, technology transfer, and market support.