Potato plantations of Central Java, Indonesia

Central Java (Provinsi Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It forms the middle portion of the island of Java. The administrative capital is Semarang.  The province is approximately a quarter of the total land area of Java. Its population was 30,380,687 at the 2010 Census, making it the third most-populous province in Indonesia after West Java and East Java.

Much of Central Java is a fertile agricultural region. The primary food crop is wet rice. An elaborate irrigation network of canals, dams, aqueducts, and reservoirs has greatly contributed to Central Java's rice-growing capacity over the centuries. Other crops, also mostly grown in lowland areas on small peasant landholdings, are corn (maize), cassava, peanuts (groundnuts), soybeans, and sweet potatoes. Terraced hillslopes and irrigated paddy fields are familiar features of the landscape.  The two major vegetable crops in Central Java are potatoes and brassicas, which farmers normally grow in rotation. Potato and brassica (crucifer) crop production from these provinces accounts for over 50% of the total Indonesian harvest for both crops.  Farmers producing these crops are mostly smallholders who want the produce for cash income rather than home consumption.  The average yields for potato crops grown in these regions are low by international standards and reflect the sub-optimal agronomic management, the unavailability of high quality seed and problems of diseases and pests.

This postcard shows the potato plantations of Central Java.  The photograph was taken from the road leading into Wonosobo, near the Dieng Plateau.  I received this postcard (19 March 2014) from Aristia Dwi (Postcrossing).