Farmers’ Preferences for Citrus Agribusiness in Samarang Subdistrict, Garut, West Java

Abstract

Samarang Subdistrict in Garut Regency is one of local citrus production centers in Indonesia. Based on the information obtained from local farmers, many citrus farmers have not seriously cultivated citrus as they only do farming as a side business. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate their reason besides motivating farmers to perform better citrus cultivation through research conducted for three months (April - June 2020) which aimed to: (1) describe farmers’ preference for citrus agribusiness, (2)analyze factors affecting farmers’ preference, and (3) formulate the strategy to increase farmers’ interest in citrus agribusiness. Research sample was determined by certain consideration (purposive sampling) due to the limited number of citrus farmers. A total of 60 farmers out of 75 farmers were selected as respondents. Data were directly collected through interview with respondents using questionnaire that has been tested for its reliability. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multi-linear regression. Result of the study found that farmers’ preference in Samarang Subdistrict belonged to moderate category, factors observed to affect farmers’ preference included production process (agro-production) capability and supporting factor, particularly the availability of facility and infrastructure.