Temanggung Farmer Sets Record: 22kg of Chilies from Just 10 Plants

Temanggung Kartininews.com - Temanggung Regent Agus Setyawan appreciates the achievement of farmer Budi Hartanto from Menggoro Village, Tembarak Subdistrict, who recorded high productivity in the Temanggung Regency Chili Competition.

Based on verification by the Department of Food Security, Agriculture, and Fisheries (DKPPP) together with the Agricultural Extension Center (BPP), 10 chili plants belonging to Budi produced 22.077 kilograms of chilies from a total of 15 harvests.

“Up to today, Mas Budi from Menggoro has proven himself as one of the contestants who has endured. From 15 harvests, the yield is already more than 22 kilograms. Top markotop,” said Agus Setyawan while inspecting the chili plantation on Monday (18/5/2026).

On that occasion, he also reviewed the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) or proper farming methods applied by the farmer, ranging from irrigation patterns, pest control, to the calculation of Cost of Goods Produced (HPP).

According to him, this strategy is important to help farmers face market price uncertainty.

“Because farmers cannot determine the selling price in the market, the effort that can be made is to lower the HPP. That means we must find a formula for growing chilies that is not too expensive but produces abundant results. In any case, Temanggung cannot be separated from the agricultural sector,” he said.

Meanwhile, Budi Hartanto admitted that participating in the competition has not been easy. The farmer, who has been cultivating chilies since 2009, faced extreme weather challenges during the planting period from October to February.

He said those conditions affected plant growth and increased production costs.

“The struggle is still long; this has only been running for about 40 percent. Through this Chili Competition, I want to show my best performance and prove what it means to be a true farmer in Temanggung,” Budi said.

Temanggung Regency Government Prioritizes Extremely Poor Children for Sekolah Rakyat

The Temanggung Regency Government, through the Social Affairs Office (Dinsos), is prioritizing school dropouts from extremely poor families (Decile 1 and 2 categories) as prospective new students for Sekolah Rakyat (People’s School) for the 2026/2027 academic year.

This policy aims to ensure that children from underprivileged families still have access to education and to prevent the risk of dropping out due to economic limitations.

Head of Temanggung Dinsos, Umi Lestari Nurjanah, said the main target of the Sekolah Rakyat program is children from families with extreme poverty levels, as directed by the central government.

“Decile 1 to 2 is the extreme poor category. Even the directive from the central government targets children who have dropped out of school from families in Decile 1 to 2, so that these children can be enrolled in Sekolah Rakyat,” Umi said on Monday (18/5/2026).

She explained that in Temanggung Regency, there are 13,757 children from Decile 1 and 2 families who meet the criteria for prospective Sekolah Rakyat students. However, for the 2026/2027 academic year, Temanggung Regency only received a quota of 60 students or two study groups (rombel).

“Even then, the 2026/2027 students will be temporarily placed at the Sekolah Rakyat in Wonosobo Regency, because the construction of the Sekolah Rakyat building in Temanggung has not yet started due to land acquisition issues,” she said.

Umi added that in the previous 2025/2026 academic year, Sekolah Rakyat in Temanggung received a quota of 125 students at the senior high school (SMA) level.

Currently, teaching and learning activities are still being held at the Sentra Terpadu Kartini Temanggung building while waiting for the construction of permanent Sekolah Rakyat facilities.