Optimazion cropping pattern for the development agropolitan selupu rejang, Bengkulu Province

Abstract

Program Agropolitan Selupu Rejang is the flagship to improve people's lives. It was started in 2002. This region is the largest producer of vegetable in Bengkulu province. Contribution of GDP and labor absorption in this region is dominated by the agricultural sector, but income of farmers in the agricultural district is still relatively low. The distribution of commodities and the demands leads to uncertainty price, making difficult for farmers to survive because of the economic value of a commodity decreases. Therefore we need a land use planning to optimize their potential. The purpose of this study was to: (1) know priorities of vegetables in the area and its influence factors, (2) optimize land use through alternative cropping patterns which is able to deliver optimal economic benefit by considering the time of planting and price of a commodity. This research is divided into several stages. The first stage is to establish the priority commodities, including determination of commodities using analysis of Location Quotient (LQ), and analyze characteristics of commodities using Localization Index (LI) and Specialization Index (SI). Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to look at the factors and priorities that influence the selections of comodities. The second stage aims to determine the potential location for vegetables by overlaying land use map, RTRW map, and land suitability map. Third stage is arranging the cropping pattern. The fourth stage is to design a distribution pattern of each area and to see the impact of the implementation by optimization using Linear Programming. The analysis showed that red pepper, carrots, onions and cauliflower leaves are plants that have a comparative advantage. Dominant factor that determines the selection of commodities is the physical aspect (44.7%) with cropping capabilities throughout the year as the most influenting factor, economic aspects (33.7%) with capital as the most influenting factor and socio-cultural aspects (21.6%) with government support as the most influenting factor. Optimization results said that cropping pattern using linear programming methods gives farmer higher economic benefit about 637 thousand rupiahs - 2.439 million rupiahs per hectare per year rather than cropping patterns without optimization.

Program Agropolitan Selupu Rejang, Kabupaten Rejang Lebong, Provinsi Bengkulu dimulai semenjak tahun 2002. Kawasan ini merupakan penghasil sayuran terbesar Provinsi Bengkulu. Kontribusi PDRB dan serapan tenaga kerja di kawasan ini didominasi oleh sektor pertanian. Sekitar 65% penduduk menggantungkan hidupnya pada usaha pertanian khususnya pertanian sayuran (BPS, 2008), sehingga sebagai penggerak perekonomian utama agropolitan merupakan program unggulan Kabupaten Rejang Lebong untuk meningkatkan taraf hidup masyarakat. Pendapatan petani sebagai pelaku utama pertanian di kabupaten masih relatif rendah. Hal tersebut diakibatkan oleh tingkat penguasaan lahan dan sumberdaya manusia yang rendah. Ditambah dengan distribusi luas tanam komoditas yang tidak dibarengi dengan perkiraan kebutuhan pasar menimbulkan produksi tidak dapat memenuhi permintaan yang ada. Hal ini menimbulkan ketidakpastian pasar dan harga, sehingga petani sulit untuk bertahan karena nilai ekonomi suatu komoditas rendah. Oleh karena itu diperlukan suatu perencanaan penggunaan lahan untuk mengoptimumkan potensi yang ada dalam mengatasi hal tersebut. Perencanaan penggunaan lahan merupakan strategi yang dapat menjaga kuantitas serta kontinuitas produksi. Perencanaan yang dilakukan tentunya dengan mempertimbangkan komoditas mana yang menjadi prioritas serta komoditas mana yang tidak. Selain itu juga perencanaan mempertimbangkan faktor keterbatasan lahan seperti total luas lahan tersedia yang harus disediakan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pasar, karakteristik lahan, harga dan musim tanam. Untuk tetap memberikan keuntungan ekonomi yang optimal, dalam perencanaan ini juga dilakukan perencanaan usaha tani.