Erson K. Soge (30), is a young man who has a high enthusiasm for work. When he met him, he told a little about his reason for becoming a farmer.

Erson, graduated with the title of the best student from the Department of English Education, Atmajaya University in 2017. His activeness in college led him to various offers from educational institutions in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. However, he prefers to become a farmer rather than accept these offers. “The income from teaching is only IDR 500,000 and is paid every three months. It’s not enough to support my family,” he said.

Seeing the potential results, which are mostly sourced from local farmers, they became interested in starting to learn to plant. However, the knowledge about cultivation that he has is limited. “My harvest can only be used to buy a pack of cigarettes at the kiosk back then,” said Erson, smiling.

Until finally he meets Frinto, one of the Technical Field Officers of YBTS, who was recorded at Wulang Gintang. Erson and Frinto calculated the potential yield of vegetables grown and the market price of local vegetables, the results were much higher than before compared to the job offers he received.

After receiving training, Erson chose to grow shallots, “I chose shallots for a reason. Tomatoes and corn are often planted by other farmers. But red onions are planted less often,” explained Ersan. Now, Erson’s motivation is to become a successful vegetable farmer, in order to earn more income to improve his family’s livelihood.