53
南太平洋海域調査研究報告 No.54（2014年12月）
OCCASIONAL PAPERS No.54（December 2014）

A Review on Dusun as an Indigenous Agroforestry System
Practiced in Small Islands
MATINAHORU Johan Markus
Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University

Abstract
Since the ancient time, farmers in Maluku have practiced dusun as an agroforestry system to develop
spices crops in some parts of the Maluku, such as Banda, Ternate, Saparua, and Seram islands. Dusun is anindigenous agroforestry model of the Maluku farmers, where perennial, annual, and forest crops are grown
together. In dusun, the perennial crops are considered as main crops, while annual and forest crops are
considered as secondary crops. The most important perennial crops of dusun in Maluku are cloves, nutmegs,
sago, coconuts, cacao, and edible fruit trees. The dominated annual crops are cassava, sweet potato,
cocoyam, yam, maize, beans, and vegetables, while forest crops in general are shading trees and timber
species. Dusun has been known for a long time as a source of local security foods, because it support
meeting daily needs of farmers, generate cash money, increase household income, and conserve theecosystem. Therefore, dusun may be considered as a farmers’ bank in some isolated islands.
Keywords: agroforestry, annual crops, conservation, dusun, forest, perennial crops

Introduction
Maluku Province consists of approximately 659 small islands and the total population isabout 1.8 million people. The majority people are farmers (80%), governmental servants(15%), and others (5%). In general, the communities live in the coastal areas of each island.
THE REGIONAL MALUKU PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (2005) reported that about
20% of small islands in Maluku Province are occupied by the communities, and the otherislands are not inhabited. Most of the empty islands are atolls or coral islands and their size issmaller than 2 km2. Therefore, the majority of the communities occupy only some islands,
such as Seram, Buru, Jamdena, Wetar, Kei, Ambon, and Lease islands.
The capital city of Maluku Province is Ambon, and it is located in Ambon Island. Ambon
Town is the center places of offices, business, education, and culture. There are also someother small towns, such as Masohi, Piru, Bula, Tual, Saumlaki, and Dobo in different islands.
Maluku Province has about 5 million ha of forests, but the rate of deforestation is

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predicted about 1.2% per year. The dominant factors of this problem are shifting cultivation,
forest logging, and some other activities to change forest land to other uses, such as palm oil
plantations, transmigration programs, and mining activities. To overcome these problems, theForestry Department of Indonesia has introduced some national programs, such as
Community Forest, ‘Gerhan’, One Man One Tree’ and ‘One Million Trees Planting’. However,these programs are not yet successful because of their incompatibility to local customs offarmers in Maluku Province. Therefore, dusun as an indigenous agroforestry system in
Maluku, where forest trees are combined with the annual and perennial crops, must be inpriority to consider as one of the national program for Maluku farmers.
Dusun in Maluku is almost similar to a multiple cropping system in Java and Malaysia,
taungya system in Myanmar, or agroforestry systems in the other parts of the world. The
difference is only in the priority crops species and management system. Spices, food, and fruit
trees are the priority crops of dusun in Maluku; meanwhile in the other parts of Indonesia
annual crops dominate in the system. In Java or other parts of Indonesia, the multiple
cropping system or agroforestry system is more intensively managed than dusun in Maluku.
The main activity to do and develop by the indigenous farmers in Maluku is dusun.
Some ethnic groups or family groups consider dusun as a livelihood, and therefore special
rituals related to dusun have been developed by some ethnic groups, such as Wemale or Aloneethnics in Seram Island. These rituals are conducted by the head of the ethnic group (kepalaadat) in the location where a dusun will be opened and developed, to ask the deity for
permission, protection, successful activities, and the highest productivity of dusun.

Short History of Dusun
Dusun is an indigenous agroforestry system of farmers in Maluku, and in this system
farmers grow a combination of annual, perennial, and forest crops. This model has been longtime practiced by the Maluku peoples since the eighth century for planting spices. In thethirteenth century, Maluku was famous as a source of spices, and therefore it attracted the
Asian and European traders. Today dusun systems are practiced by almost 50% of the small
island farmers, while about 40% practice shifting cultivation, and about 10% practicepermanent agriculture. Dusun systems are applied almost in all regions of Maluku; however,
the majority are found in the districts of Central Maluku, Western Seram, and Eastern Seram.

Types and Characteristics of Dusun
Many types of dusun can be found in Maluku. There is a classification of dusuns based

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A Review on Dusun as an Indigenous Agroforestry System Practiced in Small Islands

on land owners, such as dusun milik (owned dusun, developed by a farmer in a land area ofhimself), dusun dati (communal or clan dusun, in a land of family groups), and dusun negeri(village own dusun, in a land owned by a village, managed for the needs of the village). Basedon the performing process of dusun, a natural and an artificial dusun can be found. The
natural dusun is established through the natural process without significant humanintervention. For instance, dusun sago (sago palm forest), dusun damar (agathis forest), dusun
kayu putih (Melaleuca spp forest), and dusun mayang (sugar palm forest). Humaninterventions in natural dusun are mainly focused on product extraction and processing.
Meanwhile, the artificial dusun is established by in intervention of farmers who grow acertain combination of annual, perennial, and forest crops, with their activities from land
preparation to harvesting. The examples include dusun cengkih (dominated by cloves trees),
dusun pala (dominated by nutmeg trees), dusun kelapa (dominated by coconut trees), anddusun coklat (dominated by cacao plants). Dusun has been practiced for a long time byfarmers in Maluku as an exertion land, which can support meeting the farmers’ needs, because
dusun has many different plants (MATINAHORU 2011).
The important characteristics of dusun are; (1) easy accessibility because dusun islocated close to the residential area or village, (2) high species diversity, (3) consist ofmultiple combination of crops, including annual, perennial, and forest crops, (4) several
harvest times of crop products, (5) semi-intensive management system, (6) with low
economic values of the forest crops (MATINAHORU 2007).
The advantages of the dusun practices are; (1) reduction of the erosion and sedimentation
during rainy season, (2) stabilization of microclimate and soil water system, (3) creation oflaminar canopy structure, (4) increase of species diversity, (5) domination by species withhigh economic value, (6) increase of activities of wild animals, especially birds andmicroorganisms, (7) increase of quality of land and ecosystem, (8) making available security
foods, (9) increase of household income, and (10) sustainance of local community customs.
The main disadvantages of dusun are: (1) strong change of microclimate and animal habitats
in the initial stage of land preparation, (2) low productivity of some crops because of highcompetition in growth space, radiation, nutrients, and water (MATINAHORU 2007).

Crop Species of Dusun
The important species of perennial crops are clove (Eugenia aromatica), nutmeg(Myristica fragrans), cacao (Theobroma cacao), sago palm (Metroxylon sago), and some
edible fruits, such as durian (Durio zibethinus), Canarium nut (Canarium commune), kemiri(Aleurites moluccana), gandaria (Bouea macrophylla), langsat (Langsium domesticum),
jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), avocado (Persea

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MATINAHORU Johan Markus

americana), mango (Mangifera indica), and jambu (Syzygium spp.).
The main annual crops are cassava (Manihot esculenta), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas),ubimerah (Dioscorea spp.), taro (Colocasia esculenta), cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium),banana (Musa spp.), maize (Zea mays), peanut (Arachis hypogaea), and some vegetables,such as melinjo or genemo (Gnetum gnemon), bayam (Amaranthus spp.), long bean (Vigna
unguiculata), sawi (Brassica spp.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and tomato (Lycopersiconesculentum).
The important forest crops are salawaku (Paraserianthes falcataria), lenggua(Pterocarpus indicus), gofasa (Vitex gofasus), pulaka (Octomeles sumatrana), teak (Tectona
grandis), mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), samama (Anthocephalus macrophylla), makila(Litsea spp.), and merbau (Intsia bijuga).

Usefulness of Dusun
Dusun contributes to meet daily needs of farmers. In a food security aspect, dusun can
supply food, medicines, and cash money. LOUHANAPESSY (2010) reported that in Seram
Island dusun contributed to each households a cash of about a million rupiah (USD 90) per
month. While in Ambon Island each of farmer household earned about USD 210 per month(MATINAHORU 2011). In contrary, the farmers of Allang Village earned only about USD 70
per month (LOPUMETEN 2011), which means that farmers there obtained very small income
from dusun. However, based on the analysis, it was shown that farmers income from dusun
are inconstant because crop production depends more on the season, climate, and soil factors.
Some perennial crops have a certain habit in their productivity if there is no intensive
management. For instance, clove trees may give a high fruit yield only once in 5 years.
However, if there is an intensive control of nutrients, pest, and disease, continuous productionin every year can be reached (MATINAHORU 2011).
The importance of dusun in the conservation aspect are; (1) species diversity increases
because many species are introduced into dusun, compared to monoculture agriculture, (2)erosion and sediments are limited by a root system, a canopy structure, and tree density ofcrops, (3) a water system and microclimate are more stable because of canopy and root
density of crops.

Construction Process of Dusun
Based on the land conditions, two types of dusun have been identified. The first type isthe development of dusun by opening “forest lands”. The activity stages of this type are; (1)57
A Review on Dusun as an Indigenous Agroforestry System Practiced in Small Islands

determination ofa forest land, (2) clearance of forest covers, (3) selection of important trees,(4) cutting of unimportant trees, (5) clearance of the land, (6) preparation of seeds or seedlings,(7) planting seeds or seedlings of annual and perennial crops, (8) construction of fences, and(9) protection and maintenance of the crops. The second type is to develop dusun by using“marginal lands”. Its activity stages are; (1) determination of a marginal land, (2) clearance ofbushes or under-brushes, (3) clearance of the land, (4) preparation of seeds or seedlings ofannual and perennial crops, (5) planting seeds or seedlings of annual and perennial crops, (6)introduction of forest crops, (7) construction of fences, and (8) protection and maintenance ofthe crops.
The principle difference between both types is the status of land conditions and the
supplying process of forest crops. Trees selection and cutting are applied in the first type ofdusun when the forest land started to open. Normally, the tree selection is a priority to keep
the shading trees or timber species. This type is practiced by farmers with large forest land
areas, such as farmers in Seram, Buru, and Jamdena islands. While in the second type, thesupplying process of forest crops is done after the stage of planting annual and perennial
crops. This model is applied in many parts of small islands, such as Saparua, Haruku, Ambon,
and Kei islands.

Productivity of Dusun
The main problem of dusun is the low productivity of the crops; and the reasons are poor
growth space, nutrients, and genotypes of the crops. Many dusuns are established without
considering the space of growth, and therefore the crops there will be difficult to develop
optimally and produce flowers and fruits (MATINAHORU 2011).
Many species of plants are grown in shaded areas because of canopies of the dominant
and taller species. The next data are collected from farmers at Hative Besar Village in Ambon
Island, where most farmers never consider supply of nutrients and growth space of the crops(SAHULATA 2008). Many crops do not reach the optimal production (Table 1, Table 2). For
instance, one durian tree in the age of about 50 years can only reach about 30% production
capacity from its total fruit productivity at the heavy harvest season (MATINAHORU 2011). If
farmers can apply additional nutrients and control plant parasites, each crop can increase its
productivity every year. The other reason of low productivity is the spacing among crops. In
general, farmers believe that increasing the number of crops per area can directly increase
total productivity, which is not necessarily true. The same problem of low productivity also
occurs for the annual crops, as indicated in Table 3 (HATULESILA 2008).
SAHULATA (2008) reported dusun potentials of farmers at Hative Besar Village as shownin Table 4. Durian, gandaria, and mangosteen are grown by farmers in high density. In an

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hectare of land for all levels of tree growth (seedlings, saplings, poles, and trees), they are thedominant species. The main reason is that they are famous fruits for local markets. Some ofthese fruits are specifically consumed or processed, such as durian fruits for fresh food,meanwhile, gandaria and mangosteen are for making juice.

Table 1. Productivity of perennial crops in dusun at Hative Besar Village.

No. Tree species
1
Durian (Durio zibethinus )Productivity (kg/tree/year)
50 – 702

Jackfruit (Arthocarpus heterophyllus )20 – 503

Kedondong (Spondias pinnata )10 – 30

4Canarium nut (Canarium commune )10 – 20

5Rambutan (Naphelium lapaceum )5 – 206

Langsat (Langsium domesticum )5 – 12

7

Gandaria (Bouea macrophylla )5 – 108

Jambu (Syzygium spp.)

5 – 12

9

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana )

5–8

10

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans )3–6

Table 2. Productivity of forest crops in dusun at Hative Besar Village.
No. Trees species
1
Lenggua (Pterocarpus indicus )Productivity (m3/hectare)1

2
3

Pule (Alstonia scholaris )Salawaku (Paraserianthes falcataria )

3
2

4
5

Samama (Anthocephalus macrophylla )Titi (Gmelina moluccana )3
2

Table 3. Productivity of annual crops in dusun at Hative Besar Village.

No. Crops species

Productivity (kg/species/year)

1

Cassava (Manihot esculenta )50 – 70

2Banana (Musa spp.)

50 - 100

3

Taro (Colocasia esculenta )30 - 504Peanut (Arachis hypogaea )25 - 50

5Maize (Zea mays )50 – 80

6Water morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica )50 – 70

7

Bayam (Amaranthus sp.)40 – 50

8Sawi (Brassica spp.)

40 – 60

9

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata )50 – 70

10

Egg plant (Solanum spp.)

50 - 75

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A Review on Dusun as an Indigenous Agroforestry System Practiced in Small Islands

Table 4. Potential of edible fruit trees at Hative Besar Village.

Potential (individual/hectare)

No. Crops species

Seedlings
19

Saplings
32

Poles
25

Trees
42

2
-

1
-

3
2

4
3

Canarium nut (Canarium commune )

-

1

3

11

Rambutan (Naphelium lapaceum )

1

6

10

2

6

Langsat (Langsium domesticum )

8

24

33

22

7

Gandaria (Bouea macrophylla )

61

18

15

34

8

Jambu (Syzygium sp.)

8

3

2

6

9

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana )

13

26

12

16

10

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans )

7

20

12

20

1

Durian (Durio zibethinus )2
3

Jackfruit (Arthocarpus heterophyllus )Kedondong (Spondias pinnata )45Conclusions
Conclusions from this study are:1.

Dusun is the local custom of Maluku farmers, and therefore it must be sustained as animportant culture for new generation in Maluku Province. It has been practiced since theancient time, and it is still continued by new generation in Maluku.

2.

Dusun has many important roles to support daily needs of farmers and also to protect andconserve the ecosystem.

3.

Productivity of dusun should be increased by supports of the regional government,
especially in the aspects of management system, farmers’ capacity, and the marketingsystem of dusun products.

References
HATULESILA, Y. 2008. Bentuk-Bentuk Penggunaan dan Productivitas Lahan Sistem Dusun di
Kecamatan Leihitu Kabupaten Maluku Tengah [Land Use Forms and Productivity of
Dusun Systems, in Leihitu sub-district, Maluku Tengah District.], 61 pp., Tesis Fakultas
Kehutanan IPB, Bogor [Thesis, Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University,
Bogor] (in Indonesian).
LOPUMETEN, A. L. 2011. Kajian Sosial Ekonomi Masyarakat Pengelola Dusun di Negeri
Allang Kecamatan Leihitu Barat Kabupaten Maluku Tengah [Socio-Economic Study of
Dusun Manager Community in Allang, West Leihitu, Central Maluku], 45 pp., Skripsi

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MATINAHORU Johan Markus

Jurusan Kehutanan Fakultas Pertanian Unpatti, Ambon [Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture,
Pattimura University, Ambon] (in Indonesian).
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Kecamatan Seram Barat Kabupaten Seram Bagian Barat [Contribution of Dusun toSocial Income in Piru, West Seram, West Seram Regency], 51 pp., Skripsi Jurusan
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MATINAHORU, J. M. 2009. Kontribusi Pola Pertanian Dusun Bagi Ketahanan Pangan
Masyarakat Maluku [Contribution of Dusun Agriculture System to Food Security in
Maluku]. Jurnal Agroforestri, 2(2): 79-83 (in Indonesian).
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Khusus Bagi Pulau-Pulau Kecil di Maluku [Development Strategy of Dusun Model as
Agroforestry System Especially in Small Islands of Maluku]. Paper presented at theTraining of Shifting Cultivation Control in Mountain Villages in Inamosol Sub-Districtof Seran Bagian Barat District, Nuduasiwa Development Foundation, Ambon, 10 August,2011.
SAHULATA, Y. A. 2008. Potensi dan Keragaman Pohon Penghasil Buah (Edible Fruit Trees)
Pada Lahan Agroforestry Tradisional di Desa Ema dan Hative Besar Kota Ambon[Potential and Diversity of Edible Fruit Trees at Traditional Agroforestry Farms in Ema
and Hative Besar, Ambon], 43 pp., Skripsi, Jurusan Kehutanan Fakultas Pertanian
Unpatti, Ambon [Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University, Ambon] (inIndonesian).
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