Certification and Marketing
To further promote organic farming, farmers must be able to sell their products. Certification by the marketing organisations LeSOS and Mutos will help them in this effort.
LeSOS (Lembaga Sertifikasi Organik Seloliman) is one of the first Indonesian Bio-Certification organisations and a brainchild of PPLH Seloliman. Building-up the organisation took several years and regular training and professional support from Franz Steiner of Bio Inspecta, the Swiss certification organisation. In November 2007, LeSOS was granted the authority to certify at a national level. Since the award the staff at LeSOS have been besieged by applications.
Mutos gets it onto shelves
15 farmers in Seloliman have been cultivating organic rice already for the past few years. They were trained by the team at PPLH Seloliman and received technical assistance for the two years it took to migrate from conventional to organic agriculture. The farmers finally received their certification in 2009. But how will this bio rice get to market? How will the farmer get his income? This is where Mutos, the marketing organisation, comes in.
Mutos has been in a process of development since 2007. Its goal is to market organic produce: namely, rice, vegetables and fruits. It is hard work and time consuming building up a client base willing to pay a higher price for these products. Some shopping centres have now included sustainably produced foods in their range of products. In 2010, Mutos plans to purchase land and a machine to clean and dry the rice they buy. Only in this way can Mutos provide a guarantee for the manufacturing process of its products.
15 farmers in Seloliman have been cultivating organic rice already for the past few years. They were trained by the team at PPLH Seloliman and received technical assistance for the two years it took to migrate from conventional to organic agriculture. The farmers finally received their certification in 2009. But how will this bio rice get to market? How will the farmer get his income? This is where Mutos, the marketing organisation, comes in.
Mutos has been in a process of development since 2007. Its goal is to market organic produce: namely, rice, vegetables and fruits. It is hard work and time consuming building up a client base willing to pay a higher price for these products. Some shopping centres have now included sustainably produced foods in their range of products. In 2010, Mutos plans to purchase land and a machine to clean and dry the rice they buy. Only in this way can Mutos provide a guarantee for the manufacturing process of its products.