Contribution of urban farming in job creation and income generation in Lubuklinggau City South Sumatera

SYAWAL, Zuhri, Ir. Bakti Setiawan, M.A., Ph.D

2008 | Tesis | S2 MPKD

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendokumentasikan praktik-praktik pertanian kota di kota Lubuklinggau dan mengevaluasi bagaimana praktikpraktik tersebut memberikan kontribusi terhadap penciptaan lapangan kerja dan sumber pendapatan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian exploratory dengan subyek penelitian 45 orang petani (15 petani padi, 10 petani tanaman hias, 10 peternak kambing, dan 10 petani ikan) dan 7 institusi pemerintah di kota Lubuklinggau (Dinas pertanian, Dinas Peternakan dan Perikanan, Bappeda, Badan Pusat Statistik, kantor Lingkungan Hidup, Badan Pertanahan, dan Dinas Tata Kota). Instrument untuk pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini adalah dokument pemerintah, kuisioner, dan wawancara. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Penemuan utama dalam penelitian ini adalah sebagai berikut: a. Sebagian besar petani di kota Lubuklinggau berasal dari kelompok masyarakat berpendapatan rendah. Praktik-praktik pertanian di kota Lubuklinggau masih dilaksanakan secara konvensional. b. Secara umum, masalah yang dihadapi oleh petani kota Lubuklinggau dalam pelaksanakan kegiatan pertaniannya adalah sebagai berikut: secara ekonomi (kurangnya modal dan rendahnya nilai ekonomi dari kegiatan pertanian), secara teknik (rendahnya pengetahuan dan ketrampilan petani), dan secara sosial (kurangnya pemberdayaan kelompok tani). Lebih jauh lagi, kebanyakan petani tersebut menyatakan kurangnya dukungan dari pihak luar terutama dari pemerintah kota terhadap pertanian kota Lubuklinggau. c. Kolam ikan dan tanaman hias dianggap memberikan kontribusi yang lebih besar terhadap penciptaan lapangan pekerjaan dan sumber pendapatan dibandingkan paddy dan kambing. d. Sebenarnya sudah ada upaya dari pemerintah kota Lubuklinggau untuk mempromosikan dan mendukung kegiatan pertanian kota. Masalahnya adalah kurangnya koordinasi dan kerjasama antara instansi terkait di kota Lubuklinggau. Institusi-institusi tersebut terlihat seperti bekerja sendirisendiri

Unemployment and poverty are two of the most important urban management problems faced by Lubuklinggau city because of urbanization. Traditionally, most of the unemployment people in Lubuklinggau city who came from rural areas have only agriculture skill. In other hand, Indonesia, especially in Lubuklinggau city has big agriculture potencies that have not been used and managed optimally compare to other countries. It is expected that the work opportunities provided by urban farming can reduce unemployment and generate income for the people in Lubuklinggau city. The objectives of this research are to document the practices of urban farming in Lubuklinggau city and to evaluate how these practices are contributing to job creation and income generation. The research is an exploratory research which seeks to explore contribution of various types of urban farming in job creation and income generation in Lubuklinggau city. In this research, the contribution assessments used are both quantitative and qualitative assessments. Furthermore, the research strategies conducted was a survey. The main findings of this research are: a. Most of urban farmers in Lubuklinggau city come from low-income groups. The urban farming practices are still performed conventionally. b. In general, the problems faced by urban farmers in applying urban farming activities in Lubuklinggau city are as follows: Economically (low capital and low economic value of urban farming activities), technically (low skill and knowledge), and socially (lack of empowerment of urban farming associations). Furthermore, Most of the farmers complain about supporting and promoting from outsider especially from government. c. In term of worker absorption per land unit, fishpond and ornamental tree are considered more effective than others. Besides, the ornamental tree and fishpond give the highest average income per month. d. Actually Lubuklinggau city government has effort to promote and support urban farming activities. It can be seen from there are some institutions that are responsible for the urban farming activities such as agriculture agency and fishery and livestock agency. The problem is lack of coordination and collaboration among institutions in Lubuklinggau city. It seems that the city government still works in a fragmented way. Urban farming can be one of alternatives to solve unemployment problem and to generate income in Lubuklinggau city. However, it still needs support from all stakeholders involved. There should be a good cooperation and coordination among the stakeholders involved to promote urban farming. Urban farming is a multi-sector activity; it should be seen as a coherent objective by government institutions.

Kata Kunci : Pertanian kota,Penciptaan lapangan kerja,Sumber pendapatan,Kota Lubuklinggau,Urban Farming, Job Creation, Income Generation, Lubuklinggau City