Investigating the influence of agricultural-related policies towards profitability and competitiveness of garlic farming in Indonesia

Abstract The demand for garlic in Indonesia has surged significantly, leading to the need for imports to meet over 95% of the country's garlic requirements. This raises the question: Is garlic production in Indonesia still profitable and competitive? This study aims to assess the profitability of garlic farming at both private and social prices and analyze its competitiveness, including the impact of government policy divergence on garlic production. The study also formulates policy recommendations to reduce dependence on imports. We employed a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to address these objectives. The results indicate that garlic farming in Java and Lombok Islands exhibits low competitiveness from a competitive advantage perspective but demonstrates strong competitiveness from a comparative advantage perspective. The highest competitive and comparative advantages were observed in Temanggung Regency, Central Java, characterized by the highest private cost ratio and domestic resource cost ratio coefficients. Conversely, the lowest competitive and comparative advantages were found in Cianjur Regency, West Java, a newly developed garlic production center. Our findings suggest that garlic production in Indonesia can still be expanded due to the efficient use of domestic resources. We recommend that the government continue to support garlic production development by enhancing farmer capacity, promoting advanced technology, improving agricultural infrastructure, and streamlining import tariff policies within the bounds of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements.