{"id":64575,"date":"2020-06-05T16:10:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T09:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/2020\/06\/clove-farmers-in-indonesias-spice-islands-face-increasing-uncertainty-in-a-changing-climate\/"},"modified":"2020-06-05T16:10:14","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T16:10:14","slug":"clove-farmers-in-indonesias-spice-islands-face-increasing-uncertainty-in-a-changing-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/en\/2020\/06\/clove-farmers-in-indonesias-spice-islands-face-increasing-uncertainty-in-a-changing-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"Clove farmers in Indonesia’s ‘Spice Islands’ face increasing uncertainty in a changing climate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rezza Aji Pratama<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In Maluku Province in far eastern Indonesia, an increasingly erratic climate has left clove farmers unable to depend on the spice that put this region on the map.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The sun that beat down on Ambon Island in the middle of January was intense, with temperatures reaching as high as 34 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n

Irawan Ruhuputty, 33, a farmer in  Negeri Tial in Ambon, Central Maluku, pointed to a dried-out clove tree on the verge of death. Most of its leaves had fallen off, with only brownish-yellow ones remaining.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know whether this is caused by a disease or it\u2019s too hot. If this happens, [the tree] will usually die,” Irawan said during an interview in January.<\/p>\n

Cloves are native to the Maluku Islands. They grow naturally from the shoreline far into the mountains and are not cultivated in plantations like other commodities, such as palm oil.<\/p>\n

Clove as well as nutmeg have an important meaning for the people of Maluku. Before the 18th century, all the world’s clove and nutmeg supplies only came from this part of Indonesia, better known by traders as the Spice Islands. Because of their importance, the people of Maluku would store their crops as collateral, selling them only when there was an urgent need or when they wanted to finance a big celebration, such as a wedding.<\/p>\n

However, in recent years it has become increasingly difficult for farmers to horde their cloves, let alone fulfill their daily needs. Annual clove yields are no longer certain. In a good year farmers can earn tens of millions of rupiah, but more often they can barely cover the costs of the labor needed to harvest the cloves.<\/p>\n

In the September 2019 harvest, Irwan\u2019s family was only able to collect about 10 kilograms of cloves on their roughly one hectare of land, said Irwan\u2019s father, 54-year-old Thalib Ruhuputty.<\/p>\n

The family has been cultivating cloves for hundreds of years in Central Maluku Regency \u2013 though over time their total land area has been farmed out to various family member through inheritance. During last September\u2019s harvest, clove yields were selling for Rp70,000 (US$4.70) per kilogram, so Irwan and Thalib were only able to earn Rp700,000 (US$47).<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any stored [clove] left. I have sold them all for our daily neccesity,\u201d Thalib added.<\/p>\n

The situation is not so bad for everyone. Apik Soulisa, 55, harvested one ton of dried cloves from a garden of just more than one hectare.<\/p>\n

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The geography of Ambon Island makes it suitable for clove gardening. Credit: Rezza Aji Pratama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why do clove yields on Ambon Island fluctuate? Ireng Darwati, a plant physiology researcher from the Ministry of Agriculture\u2019s Spices and Medicinal Plants Research Institute (Balittro), explained that fluctuations caused by variations in climate change affect their hormones and gene expression.<\/p>\n

In addition to climate factors, especially temperature and rainfall, crop maintenance patterns also greatly affect crop yields. Because cloves in Maluku have tradtionally grown without special care, farmers are not accustomed to using fertilizer or watering their trees.<\/p>\n

Climate phenomena, such as El Nino and La Nina, are increasingly adding to the problem. When El Nino hit in 2015, Apik could only reap tens of kilograms of dried cloves from the same garden.<\/p>\n

A c<\/strong>limate-sensitive<\/strong> crop<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the beginning of each year, farmers anxiously wait for the next harvest. If the heat lasts until March – no more no less – they can breathe easily. Clove flowers can grow well and yields will be abundant.<\/p>\n

However, in recent years the weather has become increasingly erratic. Early summer, which is usually hot, can see sudden rainfall. Excess amounts of rain will prevent clove trees from flowering, turning the buds into leaves. If the dry season is too long, the clove plants will dry up and die.<\/p>\n

“If it’s about the climate, then let’s just surrender,” said Imron Soumena, 49, secretary of Negeri Lima village.<\/p>\n

According to Darwati, cloves are very sensitive to climate change. They require sufficient rain during the flowering process followed by a dry season for two to three months.<\/p>\n

Prolonged summer will increase levels of the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) in the clove tree. As a result, the stomata that allow CO2 to enter the plant will close, inhibiting photosynthesis. Excessive heat also inhibits cloves from getting water and nutrition.<\/p>\n

“The clove root is short so that if it is hot it will be difficult to get water,” Darwati said.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, too much rain will accelerate production of the hormone gibberellin acid (GA), which affects plant growth. Too much of the GA hormone will turn new buds into leaves rather than flowers, leading to a sharp decline in the harvest.<\/p>\n

The ideal temperature for cloves to grow is between 25-32 degrees Celsius with an average rainfall of 1,500mm – 3,500mm, said Darwati.<\/p>\n