Profit variability of vegetable farming in the upper Citarum watershed, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Vegetable farming contributes major income to farm households in the upper Citarum watershed. The participation rate of farmers in vegetable farming reached 55%, indicating that this region’s farming is very intensive. However, the land holding of the vegetable farm is very diverse among farmers. The vegetable is also planted on a steep slope and is vulnerable to soil erosion. This condition implies low technological efficiency and high risk on production and profit. In addition, vegetable farming is indicated as the cause of soil erosion and sediment increase in the Citarum River. The study aims to analyze the vegetable farming pattern and profit variability in the upper Citarum watershed. The survey was conducted in the Citarum watershed Bandung and West Bandung District. The samples were farmers in the two districts who performed on-farm agriculture activities and randomly selected 499 farm households. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics from 613 vegetable plots with 276 farm households out of 499 sample farm households. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) was employed to analyze vegetable farming profit distribution. The results show that vegetable farming has a high risk. Farmers can lose significant money but also offer a high expected profit. Vegetable farming in Bandung District has a higher expected profit than in West Bandung. According to dominant commodities planted, the profit variability of tomato and chili is higher than cabbage and potato. Chili has the highest risks; over 30% of farmers had negative profits. To stabilize farmers’ incomes, improving farming technology and planting patterns suitable for vegetable farming on the upper and steep slopes and increasing access to market outlets and agricultural infrastructure in the upper Citarum watershed is necessary.