Finding Gratitude Amid The Pandemic? Pak Pian is One Among Many

One of our GARAP chili farmers is from Kabandungan, Sukabumi, West Java. He is Pak Pian, a farmer who has joined GARAP since the end of 2019.

If we glance over him, we may think he is the one who doesn’t like to talk too much. But apparently, he is open to sharing his story. He shared his experience of struggling amid the pandemic.

Pak Pian said that farmers certainly meet many obstacles in the normal situation, let alone amid the pandemic. For him, the most disturbing obstacle is the plant disease, such as anthracnose which often reduces the yields. And now he finds other obstacles.

First, during the pandemic, prices for agricultural commodities have been falling, so the profit goes down. The commodities’ prices fell due to weakening purchasing power. It is because many people are losing their job due to a cooling economy as a result of the covid-19 physical restrictions.

Second, the production input often arrives late due to physical restrictions.

But instead of lamenting the negative impacts, Pak Pian is finding gratitude amid this tough situation. He is so grateful for being a farmer because the profit he gets is still enough to meet his family’s needs.

“Moreover, joining GARAP makes me get capital and market access to sell the crops”

Joining GARAP also drives him to develop the agricultural sector in his village. He is so grateful for that.

Pak Pian hopes that nowadays many young people want to be farmers. He believes that the agricultural sector is promising. Because everybody needs food and always needs it.