Economic feasibility, perception of farmers, and environmental sustainability index of sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Indonesian Government is promoting sorghum as an alternative commodity to substitute wheat. The cultivation of this commodity on dryland is initiated in forestry areas through social programs. This study aimed to analyze the economic feasibility, perception of farmers, and environmental sustainability of sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry in Majalengka.METHODS: This study innovatively combined qualitative and quantitative methods to assess economic, social, and environmental aspects across five dimensions, namely business organization, actors, working mechanisms, economic impacts, and sustainability of business and environment. Data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews with questionnaires, containing 5 dimensions and 23 attributes. The data collected were analyzed using the revenue-cost ratio, Likert scale, and scoring formulation, as well as multi-dimensional scale method. The level of environmental sustainability status and leverage attributes were examined using the Rapfish program and Monte Carlo analysis.FINDINGS: Sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry was economically feasible with a revenue-cost ratio value higher than one. Farmers’ perceptions regarding the five dimensions of sorghum-eucalyptus were positive except for the operational mechanisms, and business and environmental sustainability. A distinfuished area of unfavorable perception was the use of sorghum waste as a substrate for renewable energy. The environmental sustainability index for sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry was categorized as low except for the economic (61.9) and actor (52.3) which attained the moderately sustainable. The results showed that the sustainability analysis using multi-dimensional scale could be used as a guide in formulating strategies for enhancing and developing sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry in the future.CONCLUSION: The problems in this study were related to the institutional governance of agroforestry business. The inclusion of the community, government, and private sector was unequal in carrying out the sustainability function of each dimension. The challenge for the future was proper and sustainable management of development efforts to realize economic sustainability, add value for society, and ensure environmental sustainability in agroforestry areas.

Keywords

• economic feasibility
• multi-dimensional scale
• perception
• sorghum-eucalyptus agroforestry
• environmental sustainability index