valdesz djoenianto

Previously was difficult to find the quiet shop. The morning or the afternoon of the day. There are those that in turns ordered coffee and finished cigarettes kretek they. His smoke that smelling typical always accompanied the story of the shop visitor. The rare story did not throw again the memory of the glory of a commodity that cover the ciggarette their pleasure. Yes, the clove previously accompanied the Siruma Hombar Village community to peak periods of the economy.

Samosir Island

THE price of the clove is sharp down. Currently was difficult to find the clove garden that was treated. His tree was left dry and broken.

Have difficulty to believes the gardens previously the prop, or his sales revenue of the family’s economics was set aside to send children of the Subdistrict village to school Nainggolan the Samosir Regency to Pematang Siantar, Medan, or Jakarta.

Several people indicated cafes that were threatened with closing down. There were also those who tried to remain: served the visitor who came from time to time, enjoyed a glass of coffee, while they blew out the aroma of roll tobacco.

A glass of coffee or a package kretek the famous make several years set not the extraordinary price. The clove that formed the smell kretek that that made him. Results of this regency clove previously indeed highly.

In last years before the clove diregulasi by the Soeharto government his production could reach 280 ton a year.

Pointed Taput’s in the Figure (1980-1981′) published by BPS the North Sumatran Province, was named that in the period two years (1980-1981) the area of the area of the clove in Tapanuli North (Taput) experienced the sharp jump. Almost 1000 percent.

Recorded to his 1979 areas still measuring 336 hectares, but in 1980 jumped as far as 3.427 hectares. Taput previously the parent regency before to split became the Tobasa Regency and Samosir.

From the area of the area, around 926 hectare was located in the Onan Runggu Subdistrict that capital the subdistrict in Nainggolan.

But not all the area was pure the clove plantation, most were still being made use of as the dry field. Generally our resident the farmer, said Gultom, a farmer who will be met in one of the shops in the Siruma Hombar Village, late January set.

”They were the clove farmer and the paddy-field, another part also raised animals and occasionally sold,” he added.

Was in the area that projected to the hill and be at a distance around 30 kilometres from Pangururan, the capital of the Samosir Regency, this subdistrict territory had achieved the period jaya during the improvement of the price of the time clove previously.

Gultom strengthened the level of the community’s economics in the period in the 1980 ’s precisely far more better from now this. The price of the clove that had reached his peak, with the range Rp18. 000-Rp 25. 000 per kilograms made the inhabitants to be more prosperous.

In the 1970 ’s to the beginning of the 1980 ’s, the farmer received fortune that was moderate from the clove. The village children often went to school with the yield from this clove.

“If the harvest could be able to 5 ton each family,” he said.

Not few farmers who lived had enough, renovated their house, and employed the person to reap the clove. The glory of the clove periods slowly extinct by the price fall. Around 25 years already the clove farmer must be buried.

Since President’s Decision (Keppres) the number 8 in 1980 about the system of clove business administration that made the price of the clove descend until achieving the lowered Rp 2.500 per kg’s.

This condition was increasingly aggravated with the attendance of the institution and the Marketing of the Clove of the Support Body (BPPC) early the 1990 ’s that tightly controlled the price.

While that did not have the new clove crop that was made an effort to get by the farmer, except the long clove crop. With the price of the clove was supervised Rp5000 per kg, the farmer ran at a loss after paying the cost reaped and put in the sun to dry.

The data of BPS 2006 recorded in 2005, the Onan Runggu Subdistrict territory (70 hectares) and Nainggolan (9,50 hectares) produced 23,80 ton the clove with the level of the productivity in general 595 kilograms/hectares/year.

The figures dropped sharply if being compared 18 years set. The data BPS 1987 showed that widely the land 40 hectares was produced 62,65 ton per the year or in general the production 0,75 ton/hectares/year.

How the condition for the clove plantation at this time? Officially P4K Samosir mentioned in 2005 was gotten 9 from 12 subdistricts that consistently maintained the clove garden. The total width reached 63 hectares.

There was no certain note of how many of his production figures per hectare.

Only, was mentioned, three subdistrict territories that kept the clove garden were widest was Ronggur Ni Huta, Nainggolan, and Onan Runggu.

The main kind that often was planted was siputih and sikotok.

Currently the glory of the clove samosir remained at the story of the past.

The suffering of the clove farmer was increasingly heavy because of must bear the cost of the production, like the relatively high fertilising cost. Because of considering to not benefit the farmer no longer fostered their tree.

The production of the clove then descended. Later only his tree part that was made use of as firewood.

Practically of Agriculture Ir Parluhutan Matondang convincing with the hilly topography, tropical, and the plain that was located in the height 1500 metres above identity sea of the clove gardens could be replaced with the more prospective hard crop kind.

Cocoa, coffee, the durian, or the distance of the fence, for example.

”The substitute for the tree was better than his tree was left alone dry or broken, and his wood was only made firewood,” he said.

Definitely a suggestion that indeed needed the strong support from the Samosir Regional Government. (**N)

*) This article was published on Bahasa Indonesia in Sumut Pos daily on Feb. 26th 2007