Drawing on fieldwork conducted in August 2026 at four Chinese-invested banana enterprises in Cambodia and interviews with a biotechnology supplier, this article examines how plant disease is understood, managed, and experienced within plantation production. Managers, technical specialists, and Cambodian workers offered overlapping explanations centred on fungi, bacteria, mixed infections, continuous cultivation, and insects. These accounts reflected differences in occupational responsibilities, training, and exposure to economic risk. Yet causal explanations did not translate straightforwardly into control practices: actors with similar diagnoses adopted different interventions, while those with different explanations converged on the same cultivar or microbial products. Access to capital, professional experience, commercial interests, and perceived limitations in public plant-health support mediated these choices. Cultivar replacement emerged as the principal response, alongside soil amendments, biological products, and chemical treatments. Interview accounts also linked disease and its management to concerns about soil condition, unstable earnings, labour mobility, and changing relations between plantations and villages. The article develops the concept of a “control race” to describe efforts to sustain production through successive cultivar changes and spatial relocation while underlying vulnerabilities remain unresolved. Rather than establishing pathogen identity or treatment efficacy, the study shows how disease management redistributes uncertainty and risk across a plantation social–ecological system.
Organic waste is an increasingly serious problem in urban areas as populations and economic activities grow. One potential solution is the use of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae, commonly known as maggots, which can convert organic waste into biomass with economic value as animal feed; the residual material may also be used as an organic soil amendment. This study aimed to estimate the additional income generated by maggot cultivation at TPS 3R Muria, Kedundung Village, Magersari District, Mojokerto City, and to identify strategies for business development. The study used a descriptive quantitative approach and collected data through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The manuscript reports an average harvest of 50–70 kg per cycle and a selling price of IDR 5,000–8,000 per kg. The reported revenue-to-cost (R/C) ratio is 1.87, suggesting financial feasibility based on the cost and revenue figures presented. Proposed development strategies include improving production efficiency, diversifying products (such as dried maggots and residual compost), and expanding marketing channels. The findings suggest that maggot cultivation may support organic-waste management and provide supplementary income; however, the underlying cost data and respondent numbers must be reconciled before the financial results can be considered definitive.
Shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) is an important vegetable commodity and an economically valuable crop in Indonesia. One of the important postharvest handling stages for shallots is drying. Drying that is too short may leave the bulbs with high moisture content, which can increase the risk of rotting, sprouting, and fungal infection during storage. Conversely, prolonged drying may increase weight loss. This study was conducted in July 2025 at the storage warehouse area of the Makam Dawa Farmers Group in Ender Village, Pangenan District, Cirebon Regency, and at the Laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati. The experiment used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with one factor, namely drying duration, consisting of three levels: P1 = 5 days, P2 = 10 days, and P3 = 15 days. Each treatment was replicated nine times, giving 27 experimental units, with 30 bulbs in each experimental unit. Quality observations were conducted at 20, 25, and 30 days after harvest. The results showed that drying duration significantly affected weight loss, sprouting percentage, and damage percentage, but did not significantly affect bulb firmness or moisture content. P3 (15 days) had the lowest observed sprouting and damage percentages but the highest weight loss. Under the conditions tested, no single drying duration could be identified as superior for all quality parameters.
This study aims to formulate strategies to strengthen the management of smallholder cocoa plantations in response to the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) policy. This research was conducted from January to June 2026. The research employs a descriptive-analytical method based on a literature review approach. Data and information were gathered from various sources, including Statistics Indonesia, Directorate General of Estate Crops (Ministry of Agriculture), Ministry of Trade, scientific journals, international agency reports, government regulations, trade organization publications. The findings indicate that the implementation of the EUDR could potentially hinder Indonesian cocoa exports. Current conditions on smallholder cocoa planttations are characterized by limited technology and weaknesses in plantation management, administration, documentation, and farmer organizational structures. Strengthening smallholder cocoa plantation management can be achieved by enhancing technical cultivation practices, farmer institutions, digitalization and traceability systems, and government policy support. These strengthening efforts are crucial to ensure that smallholder cocoa remains competitive in the international market and meets global trade standards aligned with EUDR principles and sustainability.
Global climate change has intensified flood risk and crop water stress in rapidly urbanising tropical cities. This study presents a comprehensive hydroclimatological analysis of Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, using daily climate data for 2016–2025 from the ERA5 Open-Meteo reanalysis archive (3,653 observation days). Precipitation trends were analysed using the Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator, complemented by the Pettitt change-point test. Monthly water balance was modelled using the Thornthwaite–Mather method, and crop water stress was quantified via the Crop Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (CWRSI). Precipitation projections for 2026–2030 were generated using a three-method ensemble corrected with CMIP6 anomaly factors under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Results show a mean annual precipitation of 2,472.8 ± 553.5 mm (CV = 22.4%) with no statistically significant trend (Z = 0.000; p = 1.000). The water balance revealed a net surplus period (January–July and November–December, peak January: 171.4 mm) and a net deficit period (August–October, largest monthly deficit in October: 35.8 mm). Mean dry-season CWRSI ranged from 0.753 to 0.929 under average conditions, but dropped to 0.164–0.168 during El Niño years 2019 and 2023, representing severe crop water stress with potential yield reductions of up to 20–50% for some crops. Scenario-corrected RCP 8.5 projections indicate amplification of seasonal contrasts by 2030: January precipitation rises to 422.7 mm (+40.4% versus the historical mean), intensifying flood risk, while October falls to approximately 55.1 mm, worsening agricultural water stress, with October CWRSI projected at approximately 0.40. These findings provide a quantitative basis for ENSO-informed flood early warning, adaptive crop calendars, and green-blue infrastructure planning in Bandar Lampung.
