Background: Jeruk is loosing competitiveness in both international and national markets, due to quality deterioration at farm and marketing levels, absence of well-developed packaging and transportation facilities, lack of processing industries, etc.

Objectives:

To identify how competitive orange production in North Sumatra highlands is, compared to other major producing regions in Indonesia and internationally
To identify how serious fruit contamination with pesticide is, and how production can be made more sustainable and competitive in international markets through reduction of such contamination
To identify measures that can be taken to improve interaction and linkages between the important stakeholders in the orange production and commercialisation system, and to determine the role of BPTP in this.

Outputs: The team concluded that a future strategy to revive the industry needs action at several levels: improved information flow and coordination among stakeholders, consistent standard of fruit quality recognised by all stakeholders, improved provision of disease-free planting material of quality cultivars, network of on-farm research and demonstration sites, linked system of farmer field schools, basic research from national commodity institutions closely linked to provincial needs, producers’ associations strengthened to play a greater role in representing producers’ needs and facilitating market access.

Team Members:
Name Nationality Institute Discipline
Yasir Bashir Sudan Elobeid Agric. Res. Station Animal Science
Anush Davtyan Armenia Scientific Centre of Agric. Plant physiology
Fentahun Mengistu Ethiopia Amhara Regional Agric Res. Inst. Hortic. science
Elianor Sembiring (CP) Indonesia BPTP-SUMUT Agric. economics
Ineke Vorster South Africa Vegetable/ornam Plant Res. Inst Plant breeding
Dou Xuecheng /td> China Gansu Agricultural University Agric. economics

Reviewer: Dr Richard Hawkins (United Kingdom), ICRA professional associate

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the mandarin industry in the Highlands of N. Sumatra has progressively lost competitiveness within Indonesia against foreign imports. This study was undertaken to review the underlying reasons for this decline, and to formulate research and development recommendations.

The study was undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of ICRA (the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture), in partnership with the Research and Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology, North Sumatra (BPTP SUMUT) and the government of Kabupaten Karo.

Based on a series of stakeholder meetings and village level group interviews, the team concluded that a future strategy to revive the industry needs action at several levels. First, improvement is needed in the information flow and coordination among stakeholders. Second, a consistent standard of fruit quality, recognised by all stakeholders, needs to be developed. Third, the system of provision of disease-free planting material of quality cultivars needs to be improved. Fourth, a technical itinerary of mandarin production needs to be disseminated and constantly updated. Fifth, a network of on-farm research and demonstration sites needs to be developed. Sixth, a linked system of farmer field schools needs to be established. Seventh, supporting basic research from national commodity institutions needs to be closely linked to provincial needs. Eighth – and possibly most importantly – producers’ associations needs to be strengthened to play a greater role in representing producers’ needs, facilitating market access, and increasing the recognition and reputation of the “Berastagi” brand name. The activities and stakeholder responsibilities necessary to achieve these potential outcomes are detailed in the report

KEY WORDS: Indonesia, citrus, oranges, mandarins, markets, agricultural trade, fruit quality, farmer field schools

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