Intercropping practices in cacao, rubber and timber plantations in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Intercropping practices in cacao [Theobroma cacao] (Rajamandala plantation in Bandung district), rubber (Cikumpay plantation in Purwakarta district) and teak (Purwakarta and Sumedang plantations) plantations in West Java, Indonesia, were studied in 2003. Interviews with managers and farmers revealed that plantation companies allowed farmers to cultivate crops for 3-4 years after tree cutting (such as in the Purwakarta plantation where mahogany [Swietenia sp.] and pine seedlings intercropped with banana and pineapple were grown, and in the Sumedang plantation where teak trees were intercropped with tobacco). Thus, the farmers changed lands every 3-4 years. Each farmer managed 0.23 and 0.06 ha in the Cikumpay and Rajamandala plantations, respectively. In the Sumedang and Purwakarta plantations, larger farm areas (0.44 and 0.65 ha per farmer) were cultivated. Land preparation practices consisted of the slash-and-burn of brushwood, timber cut bases and weeds before the planting of seedlings by companies. After burning, the farmers ploughed the land, built terraces and furrows, and mulched the soil with plant residues. The companies usually planted tree seedlings either in the same year as cutting or one year after cutting. Most farmers decided which crops to grow based on crop profitability and marketability. However, in the Rajamandala plantation, crop selection was mainly based on company regulations or the farmer's preferences for daily consumption. Farmers earned 57-72% of their income through intercropping activities. In the Sumedang plantation, farmers stayed in the farm for 7-20 days per month in temporary huts. In the Purwakarta plantation, farmers visited their farms only 1-4 times during the growing season until ethephon application, after which subsequent visits were 1-4 times per month.