Enviro News Asia, South Kalimantan – Students from the Faculty of Agriculture at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) participated in a hands-on coffee harvesting session at the university rector’s coffee plantation in Bentok Kampung, Bati-Bati District, Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan, on July 18. The activity was part of the Exchange Program Nasional (Expronas) 2026 organized by the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS) ULM. The practical fieldwork formed part of a one-month internship program designed to provide students with comprehensive knowledge of the coffee value chain, from cultivation to post-harvest processing. During the session, participants harvested ripe coffee cherries from a six-hectare plantation while learning proper harvesting techniques to ensure high-quality coffee production. IAAS ULM Chair Muhammad Nasrudin said the students had previously studied coffee varieties, plant characteristics, growing conditions, and pruning techniques before conducting the harvesting practice. He noted that the field experience enabled participants to better understand the potential for coffee development in South Kalimantan. Meanwhile, Dwi Putra Kurniawan, Chair of the South Kalimantan Regional Board of the Indonesian Peasants Union (SPI), said Expronas 2026 is the fifth edition of the annual program, which this year includes three internship locations, one of which is Biji Kopi Borneo. According to him, harvesting only fully ripe red coffee cherries is a crucial stage because it significantly influences the quality of the final product. Dwi added that the activity also serves as part of the preparation for the inauguration of the Lambung Mangkurat Coffee & Roastery Teaching Factory at the Faculty of Agriculture, ULM. The facility will allow students to study the complete coffee processing chain, including pulping, sorting, and roasting. He emphasized that strengthening students’ understanding of both upstream and downstream coffee production is essential to increasing the value of locally produced coffee. Farmers, he said, could achieve higher economic returns by marketing green beans instead of selling fresh coffee cherries. The program is expected to strengthen collaboration between universities and local farmers while producing graduates capable of serving as technical facilitators and knowledge-sharing agents for coffee-producing communities across South Kalimantan. (*)
