The Nexus of COVID-19 Pandemic and Rural Agroforestry Farmers’ Livelihoods in Tasikmalaya Regency, East Priangan, Indonesia

Abstract

The agricultural sector is one of the aspects that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agroforestry farmers’ livelihoods in rural areas. It was carried out in Tasikmalaya Regency, East Priangan, where mixed garden agroforestry farming supports part of the economic life of the community. The data used were collected between August and September 2021 by interviewing 33 farmer households. A coding and descriptive analysis were carried out to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agroforestry farmers and their strategies. Subsequently, the cost-income, revenue cost ratio, and labor productivity analyses were used to assess the feasibility of agroforestry farming before and during the pandemic. The results showed that government policies related to handling the pandemic in form of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) and the Implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) significantly affected the lives of farmers. These include decreased demand and commodity selling prices, difficulties in marketing agroforestry products, and a decrease in farmers' incomes by 38.45%. The agroforestry business has become less viable due to a reduction in farm productivity from R/C 1.1 before the pandemic to 0.85 during the pandemic, while farmer labor productivity decreased from US$ 3.00 to US$ 2.10. The farmers used direct cash assistance from the government and processed agroforestry products for sale and consumption as a survival strategy during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the government can help agroforestry farmers by increasing road access to rural areas, providing fertilizer and superior seeds, and also optimizing the role of livestock farmer groups.

Realizing food security through the development of urban farming to support the family economy during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…• Cutting the food supply value chain so that it is shorter with the support of local and central governments, • Support and training programs for sustainable food production for self-consumption or local, rural, urban or suburban trade, • Food aid and aid initiatives that focus on populations vulnerable to food shortages. In line with research Pieter et al, (2022), as a strategy for survival, farmers cultivate agroforestry crops, both for their own consumption and for sale.…”

Geophytes cultivation dilemma in Indonesia: Climate change disaster mitigation, investment, and impact on the environment

“…If the price is not good or food is scarce, the farmers often consume the geophytes. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, many farmers consumed their cassava and sweet potatoes, because they could not sell them and had no income, which also happened in the Tasikmalaya Regency [34]. This is also found by Mukhopadhyay, Chattopadhyay, Chakraborty and Bhattacharya [15], where sweet potatoes play a significant role in poor households' economy in which it acts as a substantial source of subsistence and is considered a 'famine relief crop'.…”