Developing sustainable smallholders of cinnamon by intercropping of patchouli and coffee in Kerinci, Jambi

Abstract

Cinnamon is one of the spices traded in the international market, Indonesia supplies about 40-50%, and the others come from China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar. Smallholders mostly conduct the main cinnamon central productions of cinnamon in The Regency of Kerinci, The Province of Jambi, and The Province of West Sumatera. The problem of cinnamon is harvested from the bark, so it should be cut out of the trunk and must wait more than seven years to harvest. In the case of higher prices, it encourages farmers to harvest more rapidly and expand, so that there are extensive planting and encouraging smallholders to extend shifting cultivation, thereby threatening the sustainability of land resources. The review aimed to addressed possibilities in encouraging farmers to plant patchouli and coffee intercropped with the cinnamon trees to sustain the land resources and increase farmers income. Patchouli and coffee are high economic value crops that common cultivated in Jambi Province, patchouli can be quickly harvested and coffee requires shade. The study suggest that using patchouli and coffee in cinnamon smallholders as an intercrop plant is expected to be more sustainable not only from environmental but also from a social and economic perspective.