Potential of fruit plants and opportunities for product diversification in Dusung pattern farmers in Wakal Village, Ambon Island

Abstract

Wanatani or Agroforestry in Maluku is commonly known as Dusung, which is the traditional use of land resources and its ecosystem. This farming system is associated with combining agricultural plants with forestry on a stretch of land, with harvest season numerous kinds of fruits. However, sometimes, these fruits are wasted, damaged, and are left indiscriminately without further processing. Therefore, research related to the distribution of fruit crops per ha, season, and opportunities for product diversification to improve the farming community’s welfare is needed. This is a qualitative and descriptive research, with data obtained through observation and interviews to determine farmers’ experience and knowledge on fruit crop cultivation and Wakal Village on Ambon Island. The results showed that each household, clan, or family covers an area of 40 ha. Furthermore, there are 10 types of fruit crop products that have economic value with an average of 0.5 - 5 ha of arable land owned by dusung farmers. Therefore, an alternative means of diversifying processed products to increase dusung farmers’ income needs to be developed.