POLICY IMPLEMENTATION EFFECTIVENESS OF SUBSIDIZED FERTILIZER ON CROPS IN THE ROKAN HILIR REGENCY

Abstract

The role of fertilizers is significant in increasing production andquality of agricultural commodities. Availability of fertilizers to farmers should be conducted to meet six precise principles:precise in time, precise in size, precise in type, precise in place, precise in quality and precise in the right price. By having these principles farmers can apply a balanced fertilizer technology in accordance with specific recommendations. This study was conducted to assess the distribution of fertilizer subsidy policy in Rokan Hilir, Riau province, Indonesia. Rokan Hilir was chosen because nearly 50% of its revenue comes from agriculture, so that understanding the policy of subsidized fertilizer is noteworthy.

This study was conducted in five districts in the administrative area for Rokan Hilir. The method used in this study is qualitative approach with descriptive research. Data collected in this study consist of primary and secondary data on the effectiveness of policy implementation of fertilizer distribution.

The results showed that a wide range of alternative approaches have been made to overcome the fertilizer scarcity problems, either by local government or fertilizer manufacturers in Rokan HIlir. The local government asked manufacturers of fertilizers to supply fertilizer in the area in need. This policymay overcome the fertilizers’ shortages and dampen the rise in fertilizer prices in the market. Using this approach, the subsidy was only reflectingdelivery cost to the farmers. However there are some issues that need attention: the audit of the production costs and the operational structure of fertilizer producers need to be performed. This is because there are expenses that irrelevant to the operation of fertilizer producers and large enough. Another concern is no control of fertilizer distribution from upstream to downstream. To overcome this, the Minister of Agriculture should give more authority to local government to control fertilizer distribution. So that the local government head (regent)may distribute the fertilizer subsidy based on land acreage not only acts as fertilizer distributor. Recommendations from this study are also discussed in the article.

Keywords: Policy Implementation, Fertilizer Subsidy, Effectiveness