Strategy for Agricultural Development of Pineapple Horticulture through Rural Youth Empowerment

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is one of Indonesia's leading agricultural commodities. Among the biggest pineapple producing areas in Indonesia is Subang, West Java. Besides having great potential, Subang pineapple farming still faces various problems, including decreased productivity and farmer regeneration. This study aims to formulate a strategy for pineapple fruit horticultural development based on empowering rural youth. The formulation of development strategy was carried out through the evaluation of the 2016-2018 Dompet Dhuafa’s pineapple farmer mentoring action program and a survey on the perceptions of village youth using a purposive technique. Meanwhile, the formulation of research strategy used the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) method. The evaluation results of pineapple farmers mentoring action program assisted by Dompet Dhuafa show that the performance index value is 63.29 on a scale of 1-100. This value puts the Dompet Dhuafa program as the program at a developing level. Based on the results of the youth perception survey in Cirangkong Village, 78% of Cirangkong Village youth do not work as farmers, but 72% expressed a strong desire to work in pineapple farming. To address the problems of productivity and regeneration, this study formulates seven alternative program strategies, namely: empowering rural youth, strengthening farmer institutions, expanding markets,developing pineapple processing industry, strengthening farmer capacity, strengthening capital, and providing superior pineapple seeds. Based on the choice of strategic priority, the main basis for the action program plan as outlined in the Logical Framework Matrix (LFM) is to increase the empowerment of young village farmers for the development of pineapple horticulture.Nanas (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) merupakan salah satu komoditas unggulan pertanian Indonesia. Salah satu daerah penghasil nanas terbesar di Indonesia adalah Subang, Jawa Barat. Selain memiliki potensi yang besar, pertanian nanas di Subang juga menghadapi berbagai permasalahan antara lain menurunnya produktivitas dan regenerasi petani. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merumuskan strategi pengembangan hortikultura buah nanas berbasis pemberdayaan pemuda desa. Perumusan strategi dilakukan melalui evaluasi terhadap program aksi pendampingan petani nanas oleh Dompet Dhuafa selama 2016-2018 dan survey mengenai persepsi pemuda desa dengan teknik purposif. Perumusan strategi penelitian menggunakan metode Logical Framework Approach (LFA). Hasil evaluasi program pada kasus petani nanas binaan Dompet Dhuafa menunjukkan nilai indeks kinerja sebesar 63.29 dari skala 1-100. Nilai ini menempatkan program Dompet Dhuafa sebagai program yang berada pada tingkat berkembang. Berdasarkan hasil survei persepsi pemuda Desa Cirangkong, 78% pemuda Desa Cirangkong tidak bekerja sebagai petani, tetapi 72% menyatakan keinginan kuat untuk dapat bekerja di pertanian nanas. Dalam rangka menjawab persoalan produktivitas dan regenerasi, penelitian ini merumuskan tujuh alternatif strategi program, yakni: pemberdayaan pemuda desa, penguatan kelembagaan petani, perluasan pasar, pembangunan industri pengolahan nanas, penguatan kapasitas petani, penguatan permodalan, dan penyediaan bibit unggul nanas. Berdasarkan pilihan prioritas strategi, maka basis utama rencana program aksi yang dituangkan dalam Matrik Perencanaan Program (MPP) adalah meningkatkan pemberdayaan petani muda desa untuk pengembangan hortikultura nanas