The system dynamics modeling of tenant rice farmer in Aceh Besar regency

Abstract

This research was conducted in a rice production center in Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh Province, with the aims to model the behavior of tenant rice farmer, which can be used as a basis for policy making to improve the food security of farming family. The profession of tenant rice farmer is an interesting phenomenon to be studied related to its important role in meeting the community’s basic food needs and achieving rice self-sufficiency. Its very dynamic behavior and very complex problems are approached with a system dynamics method that is able to accommodate the complexity of the problem. The feedback structure in the system is used as the basis for understanding the behavior of the system. The results of the research based on the representation of the tenant rice farmer model through a positive causal loop diagram on the household cash of tenant rice farmer and a negative causal loop diagram on the tenant rice farmer household revenue model, revealed that the bitterness of the tenant rice farmer’s life stems from the absence of cash for capital. Farming is done by borrowing money that has accumulated into debt. Sustainability of farming and household life depends on cash liquidity. Limited cash liquidity causes farmer to lose the opportunity to obtain the highest grain prices and increase the added value of products.