Lebong Regency To Expands Orange Plantations

Bengkulu, Dec 27 (ANTARA) - The district administration of the Lebong regency said it will expand orange plantations from 20 hectares to 200 hectares in 2013. The pilot project of 20 hectare plantations growing local orange, "Gerga", turned out to be a success prompting the plan for expansion, head of the district agriculture and food crop office Rudi Pancarwarman said. The Gerga orange plantations would be concentrated in the sub-district of Rimbo Pengadang where the pilot project is located. Gerga was first grown by a local farmer and the success attracted other farmers, but difficulty in seed procurement was a problem for expansion. After research by an agricultural research center in East Java, the government helped in providing seeds enough for 20 hectare as a pilot project. Later big orders were received by the operator of the pilot project from traders in big cities including the city of Bengkulu, and neighboring provinces. The district administration, therefore, set aside fund for the procurement of seeds and expansion of the plantations to 200 hectares, Rudi said. "We will provide seeds free for the farmers, considered serious in growing the plant," he said here on Thursday. The target is to make Lebong a production center for Gerga orange fruits and seeds in Bengkulu, he added. A local farmer, Joni, said demand for Gerga orange, almost every week that growers could not always meet the demand. Ahead of Christmas demand peaked at 1 million tons a week while production was only up to 300 kilogram per day. The production is expected to increase after all plants begin to yield. The price paid by the farmers is around Rp23,000 per kilogram.