Land suitability analysis and direction for plantation commodities development in Pekalongan Regency, Central Java

Abstract

The plantation is one of the essential sub-sectors and encourages economic growth in Pekalongan Regency with the contribution of the 2020 Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of 17.01%. Our previous studies indicate that the leading plantation commodities in Pekalongan Regency are tea, coffee, cloves, sugarcane, and coconut. This study aims to analyze the land availability and land suitability to arrange the direction for leading plantation commodities development in Pekalongan Regency. The methods used in this study are land availability and land suitability analysis, as well as an overlay method using several data/maps such as soil, rainfall, slope, land use, forest area, and spatial planning maps (RTRW). The results showed that the available land for the development of plantation commodities is 47,782.55 ha. Based on land suitability analysis results on leading plantation commodities, there are three categories of land suitability classes, which are S1 (highly suitable), S2 (moderately suitable), and S3 (marginally suitable), with different spatial distributions for each commodity. The directions for developing leading plantation commodities in Pekalongan Regency are (1) tea in Paninggaran Sub-district; (2) coffee in Lebakbarang Sub-district; (3) cloves in 3 sub-districts, namely Kandangserang, Talun, and Doro; (4) coconut in 6 sub-districts, namely Sragi, Siwalan, Bojong, Buaran, Tirto, and Wonokerto; and (5) sugarcane in the Sub-districts of Karanganyar, Kajen, Kesesi, Wonopringgo, Karangdadap, and Kedungwuni. From the study, it can be seen that five leading plantation commodities are suitable for cultivation in Pekalongan Regency. Following the direction of leading plantation commodities development, it is expected to increase the productivity and economic welfare of the local community.