A group of leaders from the Department of Natural Resources Economy and Environment (ESL), Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM) IPB University visited Durian Village in Ngrogung Village, Ponorogo, East Java. This visit is part of the follow-up to the initiation of cooperation between the Department of ESL and FEM Darussalam University (Unida) Gontor.

The Head of the ESL Department, Dr Ahyar Ismail and the Secretary of the Department Dr Meti Ekayani visited Kampung Durian, which is the partner village of Unida Gontor. The results of this visit are expected to produce a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the ESL Department and Unida for research activities, service and scientific writing for mutual progress.

“The durian garden which has been planted by farmer groups since 2012 was inspired by a visit to IPB University and Warso Farm in 2010. At that time, it was facilitated by the Directorate General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture,” said Bambang, Chairman of the Budi Luhur Farmers Group Association (Gapoktan).

According to him, at the beginning of planting, durian seeds were given by the late Prof Sriani Sujiprihati from the Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University. In addition to providing seeds, farmers are also given cultivation training in the form of cuttings and grafting to post-harvest processing such as cakes and sponges. This durian garden is also a collaboration program between farmer groups and UNIDA since 2019 for regional planning in Durian Village.

“The various superior durian varieties that are cultivated include Kanjeng Durian and Kunir which are native varieties of Ponorogo. In addition, there are also varieties of Durian Montong, Durian Bawor, and other local varieties,” he added.

He added that the durian garden in Ngrogung Village is managed by the Budi Luhur Farmers Group Association (Gapoktan) with an area of 50 hectares. Besides durian, Gapoktan also produces organic fertilizer from durian waste.

“This organic fertilizer is also used by farmer groups for planting durian trees because the agricultural concept applied is organic. In addition to durian cultivation, there will be a plan to develop a seven-hectare durian garden which is equipped with children’s play facilities such as water tourism, planting, fruit picking, and other agricultural education parks,” he concluded. (Bahroin/Zul) (IAAS/RDL)

SDG : SDG 4 – QUALITY EDUCATION, SDG 8 – DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, SDG 15 LIFE ON LAND