Protecting Food Resources—The Cassava High-Yield Cultivation Project

Cassava

The Ajinomoto Group recognizes that securing safe and sustainable food resources is one of its responsibilities as a group involved in the food industry. Accordingly, it has been carrying out the Cassava High-Yield Cultivation Project (the “Cassava Project”) in the Indonesian province of Lampung since fiscal 2005, aiming to help improve the livelihoods of cassava farmers and support the sustainable development of the local communities.
Cassava is both a major food resource in Southeast Asia as well as one of the fermentation raw materials used to make the umami seasoning AJI-NO-MOTO^®. The group works with the Lampung Bureau of Agriculture and community development specialists to provide working funds for the project and for improving cassava cultivation techniques and community development know-how. Although a number of difficulties were faced when the project was initially started, including language and cultural differences, irregular weather such as drought, and acidic soil, production per unit of land has increased 2.2 times, thereby greatly improving the farmers' incomes.

Much of the land in the East Lampung region in Indonesia is infertile, due to acidic soil and lack of irrigation facilities. Moreover, the average household income for a cassava farmer with one hectare of land is 30,000 to 80,000 yen per year. This is much less than the 120,000 to 150,000 yen-per-year household income of an Indonesian rice farmer with one hectare of land.

A typical Indonesian farmhouse

A family that participated in the Cassava Project

The project process in Sukadana County

1. Project launch and opening ceremony (2005)

A relationship of trust was built through repeated exchanges of opinions with the Lampung Bureau of Agriculture and the participating farmers. Prior observation was then carried out at a test farm, where an opening ceremony was eventually held.

2. Plowing and fertilizing (October to November, annually)

Fertilizer was mixed after the fields were plowed with a tractor provided by Ajinomoto, and the fields fertilized at the most suitable time.

3. Cultivation management (November to June, annually)

While periodically weeding and checking the status of growth, farmers also received regular instruction from agricultural specialists.

4. Harvest (September, annually)

Harvest festivals were held and outstanding farmers commended, thereby fostering a sense of community and raising the sense of participation.

Cassava Project activities in fiscal 2008

Grafted cassava plants were collected in fiscal 2008.		A meeting is held at a cooperative.

For the Cassava Project, farmers' cooperatives were established at the end of fiscal 2007 and their activities for independence were launched on a full scale from the start of fiscal 2008. The cooperatives provide their members with the following services: (1) instructions for cassava cultivation, (2) bundled purchases of fertilizers and agricultural chemicals at reasonable prices, (3) harvesting and delivery of cassava, and (4) established connections with customers that purchase the cassava. At the same time, the farmers maintain the cooperatives and these services by paying a membership fee equivalent to 3% of the total harvest. Currently 340 members work together to raise the level of independence of the cooperatives.