Production and income dynamics of maize farmers in dryland of North Lombok Indonesia before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a broad impact on several aspects of human life, one of which is the issue of food sufficiency. Due to social restrictions, the agricultural sector, which plays a role in producing food for humans, may be affected by the pandemic. These restrictions impact the availability of farm labor and the market, both agricultural inputs, and outputs. This three-year study examines the factors that influence the productivity and income of maize farmers in the dry sandy lands of Gumantar village, North Lombok, Indonesia, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used was descriptive quantitative with 50 respondents, determined by accidental sampling. The study results showed variations in land area ownership of respondent farmers, variations in crop productivity, and variations in the form of products sold, such as selling cobs and selling grains. Maize production was more affected by rainfall, fertilizer availability, and pest disturbances than the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the income of maize farmers due to restrictions on the mobility of maize buyers.

Dynamic Analysis of Watershed Management and Sustainable Agriculture in Dryland Regions: A Case Study of Purulia District, West Bengal

“…For example, similar to Sasmal (2016) and Gupta and Bhattacharya (2010), Lee et al (2011) have applied a model based on the optimal control theory to carry out sensitivity analysis for Lake Aswan, which is located between Egypt and Sudan, and evaluated the robustness of important empirical findings. Apart from that, Hitayezu et al (2016) and Jaya (2021) have presented the effectiveness of crop diversification through empirical studies conducted in other countries. Hitayezu et al (2016) have evaluated numerous cropping techniques followed by small-scale farmers in KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, South Africa.…”

“…The results of their study have shown that crop diversification is typically restricted by technological variables (land and labour) and that for poorer farmers, reducing risks related to their income and production is a major driving force. Jaya (2021) has presented the importance of crop diversification as a cropping strategy for improving the livelihoods of maize farmers in the drylands of North Lombok, Indonesia. Furthermore, several studies, such as Yu et al (2019), Shen et al (2021), Zhu et al (2022) and Wang et al (2022), have addressed the issue of water conflict between upstream and downstream farmers using the game theoretical model.…”