Abstract
The cassava agribusiness system involves farmers from upstream to downstream. This study aims to determine the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the cassava agribusiness system and the adaptation of farmers. The research was conducted from March to April 2021 in Pasar Pedati Village, Pondok Kelapa Subdistrict, which is the center of cassava production in Bengkulu Tengah Regency. Data has collected the conditions of cassava agribusiness system and farmers’ adaptation in pandemic through in-depth interviews involved seven key informants, besides observation and secondary data collections. Data analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the pandemic does not affect the entire cassava agribusiness, disrupted only the marketing and processing subsystem, because: (1) cassava cultivation is a part-time business that low costs input; (2) farmers adjusting the production capacity of cassava chips by the demands of traders; (3) farmers still selling cassava harvests in fresh form even at low prices and making dried cassava (gaplek) to extend the shelf life of cassava. Farmers continued to cultivate cassava in the hope that the pandemic will end at any time in addition to anticipating the fulfilled of family food needs to replace rice as a staple food.
Highlights
Agricultural commodity agribusiness development requires linkages between agribusiness subsystems from upstream to downstream
An example is the cassava production center in Pasar Pedati Village, Pondok Kelapa Subdistrict, Central Bengkulu Regency. This area is a producer of cassava chips and various other processed cassava products which are a source of income for farmers [12, 17]
The cassava agribusiness system in Pasar Pedati Village was created due to the support of the upstream to downstream subsystems, namely the input subsystem, production subsystem, processing subsystem, and marketing subsystem.Cassava began to be planted by farmers in the early 2000s to be sold in fresh form.The product processing subsystem was formed in 2005 since a buyer from Bengkulu City bought cassava chips
Summary
Agricultural commodity agribusiness development requires linkages between agribusiness subsystems from upstream to downstream. Various ways are suggested to anticipate disturbances in the marketing subsystem, including through the formation of clusters that connect farmer institutions and markets [11], strengthening the processing subsystem by diversifying cassava products to increase farmers' bargaining power [9, 12, 13], facilitation financing [14, 15], and government program support [16]. An example is the cassava production center in Pasar Pedati Village, Pondok Kelapa Subdistrict, Central Bengkulu Regency. This area is a producer of cassava chips and various other processed cassava products which are a source of income for farmers [12, 17]. This study aims to determine the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the cassava agribusiness system and the adaptation of farmers to deal with it in Pasar Pedati Village
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
