Direction of robusta coffee development for Desa Emas program realization in Mekarbuana Village, Karawang Regency

Abstract

Robusta coffee is one of the focuses for realizing Desa Emas program in Mekarbuana Village, Tegalwaru Sub-District, Karawang Regency. The West Java Provincial Government choose Mekarbuana Village as one of the 20 target villages of Desa Emas (Enterpreneur, Mandiri, Adil and Sejahtera) in 2016. Robusta coffee production in Mekarbuana Village still fluctuates annually and certainly has an impact on the income of coffee farmers. A recommendation is needed in the direction of coffee development that considers various aspects of robusta coffee in the context of developing coffee commodities. The purpose of this study is to analyze the land suitability of Robusta coffee based on measurable soil chemical properties and provide recommendations for the direction of the robusta coffee development in an effort to realize the Desa Emas program. The land suitability analysis measured by taking disturbed soil samples to analyzed for the chemical properties of the soil and then conducted a land suitability analysis. Recommendations for the direction of the robusta coffee development are carried out by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the development of robusta coffee using SWOT analysis based on the results of land suitability analysis and interview result with coffee farmers in Mekarbuana Village. The results of the land suitability analysis indicate that actual land suitability has limiting factors, they are pH, slope, organic C levels, and water availability. Based on the SWOT analysis, increasing the quantity and quality of robusta coffee production in Mekarbuana Village requires various improvements in land input and maintenance.