Paprika Garden

Photo caption: A fresh red paprika (capsicum anuum) in a garden in the north of Bandung.

Bandung is an important producer of paprika in the country. The plant is mainly cultivated in green houses in the village of Pasirlangu in Cisarua, West Bandung Regency. The ones you see in these pictures are from a garden owned by a friend of mine.

Currently he is cultivating the red and yellow varieties. The produce are mainly sold in the local and Jakarta markets. With the expansion of the farm he is currently undertaking, he says he will soon produce enough for to be able to export the produce to Malaysia and Singapore.

local produce

These vegetables sold at Pasar Baru traditional market in the city center are locally produced.

More than 90 percent of our vegetables are locally produced in the valleys and mountains sorrounding the city. They are sold in the local markets as well as for exports to other cities like Jakarta.

Vegetable markets here begin at midnight when farmers transport their produce to Pasar Induk (lit. mother market; traditional markets that function as distribution centers). I took this photo at about mid-day when most of the vegies have already been sold out.

The Cow Farm

These are the cows (dairy cattle) that are fed by the grass that the man in my yesterday's photo brought.

Indonesia is still yet to be self-sufficient in its fresh milk production. According to the cattlesite, it currently produces only about 1.2 million per day of fresh milk or about 25 percent of its market demands. Out of this, West Java - as I mentioned yesterday - contributes about 430,000 liters, which places it as the second largest producer of fresh milk in Indonesia after East Java, which produces about 600,000 liters per day. The rest is produced by dairy farms in Central Java and other parts of Indonesia.

Dairy cattles are mostly owned by individual farmers who on average have fewer than 10 catles. These farmers organize themselves in cooperatives to help them get the supplies and assistance they need in raising their cattles, transport and market their produce, and deal with their major buyers, which are the dairy product factories, mostly located in Bandung, Bogor, and Jakarta.