Yawerma is a farming group in Warsansan Village, Biak Numfor Regency, Papua. The farming group consists of six people and has been active even before receiving training from Yayasan Bina Tani Sejahtera (YBTS). Coming from a family of farmers, they initially adapted the traditional farming method that the local farmers have used for a long time. When they first met the YBTS team, they thought the training would only cover the planting process, not the entire farming process.
The training program given by YBTS introduced the Yawerma group to good agricultural practices. For example, the farmers received training on a proper seeding method by paying good attention to the mixture of planting mediums used. As a result, only 30 crops could not grow out of 1650 planted seeds. It was a massive improvement from their initial method, which was spreading the seeds directly to the ground. Besides seeding, the farmers also learned about the calculation of giving adequate amounts of fertilizers and the proper use of pesticides.
The leader of the Yawerma group, Elisa Mnubefor, realized that the modern farming method taught by the YBTS team was efficient and had the opportunity to give a better harvest result. According to her, this farming method required a high level of detail. Thus, to succeed, the farmers must be resilient and willing to learn. These farming activities also changed her lifestyle. Elisa, who initially spent considerable time at home, now became meticulous in caring for her crops. She believed the time she spent every day was valuable money, so she didn’t want to spend it lazing around.
The farmer’s training program also piqued the citizen’s interest. Elisa explained that many citizens were visiting their farmland to ask around and learn about vegetable cultivation. One of the citizens, Ismail, was also motivated to start farming in his house garden.
Yawerma currently cultivates several vegetable commodities, such as water spinach, tomatoes, and chilis. From the harvest result, they receive around IDR 3 million in revenue. The profit they obtain from the harvest is used to fulfill their family’s daily necessities and educational needs. In the future, Elisa hopes more young generations will want to optimize Papua’s lands for farming purposes.
“Papua is known for having fertile land. Thus, we need to do something. We must work hard to fulfill the food needs in Papua and Indonesia. Let’s make our little paradise come true in Papua,” Elisa said to the young generation in Papua.
