Policies and Models of Agribusiness Development of Cassava in North Sumatera

Abstract

North Sumatera is one of cassava production center areas in Indonesia which produces 30 t ha-1 in average, planted by farmers by simple way. The cassava is used mostly for materials of starch industry, while certain cassava is used for processed food products in household industry. In order to optimize the role of cassava commodity in economics, it is required strategic planning which examines policy and development model of cassava agribusiness in North Sumatera. The research method used in this study is Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to farmers, traders/collectors, craftsman, and factories and household industry. It was held in 2016 and 2018 in Simalungun, Pematang Siantar, and Toba Samosir district. The result shows that implementation of policy related to utilization of superior varieties cassava as industrial raw materials for starch, cassava varieties for food materials, and utilization of cassava production technology is required. Afterwards, agroindustry sector requires implementation of policies such as policy of business scale optimization, maximization of business profit, effective technology utilization for processing industry, promotion, and product dissemination. Cassava agribusiness development model requires implementation of industrial types classification (upstream and downstream) in a linked partnership system which sustainable and continuous.