Area-based citrus commodity development to grow the regional economy of Nunukan District, North Kalimantan Province

Abstract

The Development of Horticultural Agribusiness Areas (PKAH) is one of the implementations of the Ministry of Agriculture’s policy, where the development of superior commodities is directed at developing areas which are integrated vertically and/or horizontally with the consolidation of productive businesses based on community economic institutions that are highly competitive in local and international markets. This development study was carried out in one major citrus agribusiness area in Indonesia, namely Nunukan District, North Kalimantan Province since January 2017 to December 2018. The aim of the study was to develop citrus agribusiness in Nunukan, North Kalimantan. The method used participatory development conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, local government and farmer groups to formulate policy recommendations based on the results of applied research on farmers’ land in the border areas of Indonesia and Malaysia. The approach included the establishment of demonstration plots for technology implementation of Integrated Management of Healthy Citrus Orchard (IMHCO), field assistance, and program evaluation. This involved four farmer groups and 17 farmers. Primary data were collected by survey and analyzed descriptively. The results showed that (1) the establishment and maintenance of the demonstration plots which were managed properly and consistently had been carried out on new crops and productive crops of 10 hectares each; (2) farmers assisted intensively had applied 95% of the IMHCO technology, while farmer groups nearby the location of IMHCO treatment had applied 80-90% of the IMHCO technology, and less active farmers only applied 55% of the IMHCO technology; (3) farmers had comprehended all the technology components in IMHCO, indicated by the understanding and application scores ranged from 2.38‒3.00.