Daily human activities, such as the use of electricity and motorised vehicles, leave a carbon footprint that has a significant impact on the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, as well as other pollutants, produce negative impacts in the form of climate extremes and decreased air quality. Climate extremes such as changes in weather patterns also have a fatal impact on agricultural businesses and food security. Efforts to reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are one of the keys to mitigating these impacts to maintain environmental sustainability and the quality of human life.
The anxiety about this situation paved the way for Pundi Sumatra to build a collaboration with PT Jejak Enviro Teknologi, known as the Jejak.in programme, to encourage the development of Agroforestry activities by local communities in several villages in Jambi Province, on community-owned lands which indirectly become a form of participation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Agroforestry is a practice of sustainable agriculture, because besides having a real and diverse production contribution, it also has a conservative function for the environment and social conditions. Agroforestry can guarantee wider economic growth and higher food security,’ said Damsir as coordinator.
To date, 10,767 seedlings consisting of areca nut, mango, jackfruit, jengkol, avocado and sweet bark have been planted. The choice of plant species is the result of an agreement with the community. ‘The community is very enthusiastic about this planting activity, because what is given is labelled or quality seedlings,’ said Ariansyah as the field facilitator.
The planting of seedlings is spread over an area of up to 40 hectares, which is inserted in coffee plants and annual plants owned by residents, there is even one village that has allocated its village treasury land to be planted with MPTS (Multy Purpose Tree Species) seedlings, so that the economic results of the plant later; can provide additional income for the village treasury. The planting, which has been ongoing since the end of 2023, is now entering the tagging stage of the seedlings as a monitoring mechanism for the growth of the planted seedlings.
In this Agroforestry program, there are five villages that are the planting locations, including the location around the Suku Anak Dalam (SAD) settlement in Bathin VIII District, Sarolangun Regency (18 families), as well as Talang Asal Village (403 families), Tuo Village (4,412 families), Tanjung Berugo Village (293 families), and Talang Paruh Village (21 families), Lembah Masurai District, Merangin Regency, Jambi Province.
The four villages located in Lembah Masurai District, have so far been the expanse of the Marga Peratin Tuo community's coffee plantations located around the buffer zone of the Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS). "Many studies have been conducted, which show that carbon absorption with an agroforestry pattern is higher than with a monoculture pattern," said Damsir.
Process of Approaching the Community
Before this planting program took place, of course Pundi Sumatra conducted initial studies and assessments in several locations. Not only ensuring land availability, but more importantly ensuring the community's willingness to plant and maintain seedlings from the program.
Initial socialization and data collection of land potential, as well as assessment of seed needs have been ongoing since June at the settlement and business land of the Suku Anak Dalam Community (SAD) in Pematang Kejumat, Bathin VIII District, Sarolangun Regency.
From the results of discussions with the indigenous community, the community wanted types of seeds that could be economically beneficial in the long term for its residents, so it was agreed that types of seeds such as areca nut, mango, jackfruit, and jengkol would be planted precisely around the SAD settlement location. The realization of this planting activity itself took place in early December 2023, with a total of 830 seedlings successfully planted.
Hal yang sama juga dilakukan tim Pundi Sumatra dengan 4 desa di Kecamatan Jangkat Kabupaten Merangin. Setelah proses sosialisasi dan warga menerima rencana kegiatan penanaman, dilaksanakan kembali musyawarah untuk menyusun kesepakatan aturan main dalam program tersebut yang membahas secara detail tentang hak dan kewajiban kedua belah pihak dalam konteks kerjasama ini. Bulir – bulir kesepakatan yang dibahas, kemudian ditandatangani oleh warga desa sebagai bentuk komitmen bersama sekaligus menjadi tools monitoring atas pelaksanaan program nantinya.
"To oversee the implementation of planting activities and field monitoring, we also place one facilitator in each program location. This facilitator also plays a role in building good coordination with the village and sub-district governments, so that the program is fully supported by the local government," said Dewi as CEO of Pundi Sumatra. The role of the field facilitator is very functional in carrying out periodic monitoring in monitoring the growth and constraints of seedlings in the field and facilitating group meetings and also coordinating activities with parties starting from the village and sub-district governments.
Community Assistance Process
After the process of planting and tagging seedlings, from the results of ongoing monitoring, it was discovered that the village community needed assistance in the form of grass cleaning tools and fertilizer for the seed maintenance process. According to Ari as a field facilitator, the need for fertilizer can help seedlings grow well.
After monitoring for a month, the development of post-planting seedlings was 95% of the seedlings were declared alive and growing well, while 5% were monitored as damaged due to pig pests that were quite numerous crossing around the residents' gardens.
"Agroforestry is as important as the benefits of other vegetation in natural forests. The hope is that in addition to reducing carbon emissions, this activity also has the potential to improve the community's economy in utilizing the harvest from the planted seeds," said Damsir.
Furthermore, Damsir also said that the mentoring process carried out for this community group is planned to have a period of three years until the planted seeds have produced fruits that can be harvested by the community.