The Effectiveness of Salt Business Empowering Program (Pugar) on Salt Farmers’ Income Improvement in Kedungmutih Village of Demak Regency and Kedungmalang Village Of Jepara Regency

Abstract

Indonesian national low productivity of salt which is unequal between the need level and salt consumption eventually results in salt import made mainly to meet the industrial needs. The government through the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has released a Public Salt Business Empowering Program (known as PUGAR/Pemberdayaan Usaha Garam Rakyat). PUGAR is an empowering program focusing on the improvement of job opportunities and welfare for salt farmers/managers to achieve the self-sufficiency of salt for consumptions and industries. This research aims at examining the influence of salt business empowering program on the salt farmers’ income improvement in Kedungmalang village of Jepara Regency; the implementation level of salt business empowering program in Kedungmutih Village of Demak Regency when compared to that in Kedungmalang Village of Jepara Regency; and the influence of salt business empowering program on the salt farmers’ income improvement in Kedungmutih village of Demak regency. The research was conducted using a descriptive method with a case study approach. The program implementation was quantitatively analyzed. Furthermore, the effectiveness of PUGAR on income was analyzed using T-test. The test result showed that there were income differences in Kedungmutih and Kedungmalang Village before and after the implementation of PUGAR. This finding showed that PUGAR was proven as an effective program to improve the salt farmers’ welfare through income improvement.

Optimising Empowerment of Fostered Villages for Increased Income of Tambak Farmers in Bulu Cindea Village

“…These initiatives involve enhancing the People's Salt Business (PUGAR) and exploring the untapped potential of existing salt deposits. PUGAR is a component of the Independent National Program for Fisheries and Marine Communities (PNPM Mandiri-KP/National Program for Independent Marine and Fisheries Communities) [7]. The primary objective of PUGAR is to attain national self-sufficiency in salt production by enhancing both the quality and quantity of salt production.…”