Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Rice Farming Planning in Indramayu District, West Java

Abstract

Indramayu District is one of the centers of rice production in West Java Province which contributes quite a lot to the national food supply. Climate change has resulted in droughts, floods, and pest attacks resulting in crop failure in the area. To protect it, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in collaboration with Jasindo provides a rice crop insurance program for affected farmers. However the COVID-19 pandemic has limited social interaction and has an impact on the insurance administration process and rice farming planning in general. The aims of this study was to determine the impact of covid-19 on rice farming planning and insurance activities for farmers. The research was conducted in Indramayu District, West Java Province in April-August 2021. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and questionnaires from 7 key informants, then analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. The results showed that: (1) COVID-19 pandemic did not directly affect the planning and implementation of rice farming; (2) the administrative process of the rice crop insurance program manually is hampered. This causes the absorption of insurance programs to decrease to 30% until August 2021. To overcome this problem, online insurance services are needed and provide training for agricultural extension workers.