APPERTANI, the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Center for Socio-Economic and Agricultural Policy (ICASEPS) of the Ministry of Agriculture held a Coffee Quality Improvement and Honeybee Cultivation Training. The training was conducted in two villages, namely Lebakmuncang Village, Ciwidey, Bandung on 23-24 March 2022 and Mukapayung Village, Cililin, West Bandung on 26-27 March 2022. The opening ceremony of the training in each village was attended by several local officials, that is the Sub district Head, Head of BKPH, Head of KRPH, Head of BPP, Village Head, and PPL.

The training is part of an action research activity named Agricultural Policy Research to Support Natural Resource Management in Indonesia’s Upland Landscapes (IndoGreen) which is funded by ACIAR. Several institutions in Indonesia and universities in Australia collaborate to conduct this research. The theme of the training is Coffee & Honey in synergy, Prosperous Farmers, Sustainable Natural Environment. The training objective is to provide trainees with knowledge and skills to produce quality rice coffee and cultivate honey bees concurrently. The cultivation of honey bees in coffee plantation areas will increase coffee productivity. Proper harvest and postharvest techniques could produce high-quality coffee beans. Then the selling price of coffee beans will be much higher. The synergy of coffee cultivation and honey bees is supposed to increase farmers’ income so that their welfare will gradually improve. This also supports the success of the national program “CITARUM HARUM”.