Institutional development · Public engagement and economic impact · Indonesia
IPB University team shows West Sumatra women's groups how to grow its bred chilli varieties
IPB University's Patriot Expedition Team ran two sessions in Sijunjung Regency, West Sumatra, presenting village women's groups with university-bred chillies and ways to use gardens and farm waste.
Why it matters: Women's group members in Nagari Kamang Makmur were introduced to two IPB University chilli varieties they could grow at home.
IPB University reported that its Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) ran two sessions on 13 October at the Bunda Makmur demonstration garden in Sijunjung Regency, West Sumatra, attended by local women farmers' (KWT) and family welfare (PKK) group members.
The university said participants were urged to draw on what lies close at hand, including household plots as well as waste from plantations and livestock.
Two chilli varieties bred by Prof Muhamad Syukur were presented: Triwarsana IPB, a decorative plant whose fruit ripens yellow, purple and red, and Bonita IPB, a very hot variety.
According to the university, each Bonita IPB plant may bear roughly 156 to 325 fruits, and the variety withstands some yellow virus diseases.
Editor’s view
Abigail Taylor, Leadership and Governance Editor
Members of the two women's groups in Nagari Kamang Makmur were told the chillies can be raised in pots or polybags without much land; if they put the training into practice, the team expects their household plots to yield more.
