PT Petrokimia Gresik (Persero), an Agroindustrial Solutions company and member of the PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) holding, strengthened its support for the development of flagship shallots in Nganjuk Regency, East Java, through the “Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji” program. The program, carried out on Monday (7/9/2026), involved 120 farmers from six sub-districts in Nganjuk. Through the demonstration plot (demplot) forming part of the program, shallot productivity reached 20 tons per hectare, representing an increase of up to 12 percent compared to the previous harvest of 18 tons per hectare.
The Director of Finance and General Affairs of Petrokimia Gresik, Adityo Wibowo, stated that shallot is one of the strategic horticultural commodities holding high economic value and close relevance to public needs. Therefore, increasing the productivity and quality of this commodity is crucial, not only to improve farmer welfare but also to maintain food availability.
“Petrokimia Gresik wants to be present closer to farmers. We do not want to stop at providing fertilizers, but also continue to drive balanced fertilization education, soil testing services, cultivation assistance, agricultural technology utilization, and the strengthening of the agricultural ecosystem from upstream to downstream. We manifest this spirit through the Pestani Program,” said Adityo, familiarly called Adit.
East Java plays a strategic role in national shallot production. In 2024, shallot production in East Java reached 476,666 tons from a harvested area of approximately 53,681 hectares. Meanwhile, national shallot production reached 2,085,721 tons with a harvested area of 188,561 hectares. These data highlight East Java's critical position in sustaining national shallot production.
Within this ecosystem, Nganjuk Regency serves as one of the primary shallot centers. This potential is further strengthened by the presence of the superior local variety Tajuk (Tanaman Asli Nganjuk), renowned for its superior bulb quality, attractive color, uniform size, and good shelf life. In his address, Adit mentioned that Nganjuk ranks second nationally in terms of shallot production, while the Tajuk variety holds the number one national position as shallot seed.
“Pestani is not merely a competition. We present Pestani as a space for farmers to learn, share experiences, build collaborations, as well as demonstrate best cultivation practices on regional flagship commodities. Today, we bring that spirit through Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji in Nganjuk Regency by elevating the superior local variety, Tajuk,” said Adit.
Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji was joined by 120 farmers from six sub-districts: Wilangan, Bagor, Rejoso, Nganjuk, Sukomoro, and Gondang. The program series ran from March to September 2026 through direct on-field shallot cultivation competitions.
Through this competition, farmers were encouraged to apply cultivation practices more optimally while producing shallots of increasingly better quality. Competition evaluation encompassed bulb uniformity, harvest weight, and cultivation documentation. These parameters were part of the effort to encourage farmers to pay attention to yield quality in a more measurable manner, rather than solely pursuing production quantity.
The results of applying these cultivation practices were demonstrated in part through the Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji demplot. Shallot productivity in the demplot reached 20 tons per hectare, an 11–12 percent increase compared to the previous harvest of 18 tons per hectare.
“This achievement shows that applying proper cultivation, providing optimal plant nutrition, and delivering consistent guidance have the potential to yield better results for farmers. It is these best practices that we want to continually develop and spread through Pestani,” said Adit.
In their cultivation, Pestani participants applied several Petrokimia Gresik products, namely Phonska Lite, K Plus, Phonska Cair, Phonska Oca Plus, ZA Plus, SP-36 Petro, Petro Biofertil, and Petroganik Premium as nutritional sources for the shallot crops.
The name “Nyawiji” carries the meaning of uniting steps. For Petrokimia Gresik, this spirit aligns with Pestani's approach, which emphasizes collaboration, mentoring, and direct learning in the field. The best cultivation practices resulting from this program are expected to serve as a learning process while being expanded more broadly by other farmers.
“The word Nyawiji carries a very strong meaning. To advance agriculture, we must unite steps between farmers, government, business sector, and all stakeholders. Therefore, we hope Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji not only provides benefits for participants, but also becomes part of a collective movement to strengthen Nganjuk shallots,” stated Adit.
The Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji series was also feature-filled with a gathering (sarasehan) with farmers and stakeholders, joint harvesting, and the presentation of awards to outstanding farmers. These activities created a space to strengthen interaction and collaboration while expressing appreciation for the hard work, spirit, and dedication of the farmers throughout the program.
At the same location, a farmer from Gondang Sub-district, Suheri, expressed appreciation for the guidance provided by Petrokimia Gresik to shallot farmers in Nganjuk Regency. He expressed hope that the increased productivity resulting from the program would impact farmers' income and welfare positively.
"In this activity, we received information regarding non-subsidized fertilizers that have been proven to drive increases in shallot productivity. Praise be to God, the crops yielded high-quality results," said Suheri.
Meanwhile, Pestani is not only developed for the shallot commodity. The program has been implemented across a number of flagship commodities in various regions of East Java. In addition to Pestani Bawang Merah Nyawiji in Nganjuk, there are Pestani Rawit covering Malang, Probolinggo, Mojokerto, Kediri, and Blitar; Pestani Melon Pantura in Tuban, Ngawi, Bojonegoro, Gresik, and Lamongan; as well as Pestani Semangka Tapal Kuda in Lumajang, Jember, and Banyuwangi.
This distribution forms part of Petrokimia Gresik's approach in executing farmer empowerment tailored to the potential of flagship commodities in each respective region.
“Petrokimia Gresik is committed to continuously growing and developing together with farmers. We believe that when farmers become more productive and prosperous, agriculture will grow stronger. And when agriculture grows stronger, the food security of East Java and Indonesia will become even firmer,” Adit concluded.
Attachments
| File | Type | Size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 PESTANI BAWANG MERAH NYAWIJI FINAL | 143 KB | Download |
