Berau's Cocoa Farmers: Protect the Forest, Manage Resources Sustainably

Berau is a regency where 75 percent of its 2.2 million hectares of land is still natural forest. The local government and community of Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, continue to reduce the region's natural forest deforestation rate. One of the efforts is through social forestry, which allows communities to manage forests sustainably and improve their welfare.

Berau Regent Sri Juniarsih said that in the past, the development model relied more on changing natural forest cover for other, more economical uses such as oil palm plantations, industrial plantations, etc.

"But now we are a pilot in social forestry management in East Kalimantan. We have successfully developed an Integrated Area Development (IAD) document, the first of its kind in East Kalimantan, to optimize the utilization of 98,000 hectares of social forestry in Berau," said Sri Juniarsi during a Thought Leaders Forum organized by Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) in Jakarta on March 12, 2025.

Integrated area development is a development concept that ensures that the natural resources in the forest area are preserved and provide sustainable benefits that can improve the welfare of the local community. According to Sri, cocoa cultivation is one of the land uses in the village area. "With good assistance, one of which is done with YKAN, cocoa from these smallholder plantations can penetrate the national market," Sri explained.

Lita Handini, Head of Beau's Plantation Agency, added that the district government had implemented several strategies to encourage cocoa development, from collaborating with multi-parties, mapping and developing cocoa areas, increasing production, and improving the quality of cocoa beans. "We also provide capital and marketing facilities through a partnership system, downstream cocoa products, promotion, and most importantly, provide more intensive assistance to farmers," said Lita.

One of Beau's sustainable cocoa plantation centers is in Kampung Merasa. Irmaya Banaweng, a cocoa farmer from Kampung Merasa who also attended the discussion, said that the cocoa plantation business has existed since the 1980s. However, it grew when it received assistance from the government and YKAN.

"YKAN organized a Cocoa Internal Controlling System (ICS) training program. ICS provides a lot of information to residents about the types and quality of cocoa in the market, starting from the cheapest wet cocoa beans, then dry cocoa beans, and the most expensive and sought-after fermented cocoa beans," Irmaya said.

The training also extended to the processing of fermented cocoa beans into various food and beverage products by the Kampung Merasa women's group. Meanwhile, farmers are helped to develop cultivation standards to improve the quality of cocoa so that it can penetrate the premium market.

Efforts to improve the quality of cocoa have resulted in public recognition of Merasa cocoa as one of eight fermented cocoa beans with unique, authentic, and specific characteristics in the national selection towards Cocoa of Excellence in Paris, France, in 2021.

Two years later, Merasa 74% Single Origin Chocolate was launched with Pipiltin Cocoa, a premium chocolate artisan in Indonesia. In addition, processed fermented cocoa derivative products made by farmers are also supplied to shops in the district capital and marketed to guests traveling to the village. "Cocoa prices are currently at a record high. This can be a good momentum to continue improving cocoa quality in Berau so farmers can prosper," said Mr. Irvan Helmi, Co-Founder of Pipiltin Cocoa.

YKAN Executive Director Herlina Hartanto said on the same occasion that Kampung Merasa in Berau is a concrete example of how nature conservation can go hand in hand with improving people's welfare. YKAN, she said, has consistently partnered with the central and regional governments to support green development that places communities as the main actors in nature conservation.

"Through social forestry, we assist villages in mapping their potential. Furthermore, we assist them in developing livelihoods that are friendly to nature so that welfare is fulfilled and nature remains sustainable," Herlina said.

YKAN's Terrestrial Program Director, Ruslandi, added that with the ICS program, the residents of Kampung Merasa can receive assistance in implementing good agricultural practices. In this case, the residents of Kampung Merasa can cultivate cocoa in an agroforestry manner, namely planting cocoa combined with forestry plants.

YKAN's Terrestrial Program Director, Ruslandi, added that with the ICS program, the residents of Kampung Merasa can receive assistance in implementing good agricultural practices. In this case, the residents of Kampung Merasa can cultivate cocoa in an agroforestry manner, namely planting cocoa combined with forestry plants.