Maize Value Chain in Indonesia: An Empirical Study Before and During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article describes a new idea of the maize value chain in Indonesia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as we already know that it affected all aspects of life, including agriculture. This research was conducted in East Java, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara Province through interviewing stakeholders of the maize value chain. Data collection was carried out at two periods, before and the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia. Using the value chain mapping analysis, governance analysis, and marketing efficiency analysis on the maize value chain, it is confirmed that all marketing institutions except feed producers (mills) experienced a decrease in the R/C ratio, and profits and marketing cost were increased all actors. The R/C values and feed mills profits were even higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before. Although there was a 2.96% decrease in the selling price and a 16.6% increase in costs during the pandemic, the difference between the selling price and the purchase price reached 25%, the R/C value became higher during the pandemic. In general, maize value chain performance was still efficient because the average R/C obtained was more than zero (0.134). The increase in prices at the consumer level was not perfectly transmitted to farmers' level prices. Meanwhile, the prices decline at the consumer level was perfectly transmitted to that at the farmer level.