Pustaka Ilmiah Universitas Padjadjaran

Abstrak

Linking Mango Farmers to Dynamic Markets in Indonesia

Indonesia ranks fourth among mango producing countries, after India, China, and Thailand. One of the important production zones of ma rv,o in Indonesia is Pemalang, Central Java. In this area, mango can be harvested during oft-season, May to August, while mango in other producing areas is generally harvested in the months of October to January. The specific harvesting period should be a considerable advantage to farmers in term of bargaining position with traders in determining mango’s selling price. However, apparently local collectors (tengkulak) and wholesalers (bandar): are still those who benefit the most from off-season mango. In Pemalang, since farmers are generally bounded by a loan received from a trader, farmers let traders decide on selling the harvest. Therefore, farmers do not know the accurate volume of mango production. This kind of exchange system creates vulnerability to farmers’ bargaining position, so that they obtain relatively lower price compared to the market price. This lop-sided exchange system has also resulted in farmers’ lack of motivation to improve productivity as well as quality of mango.