Pemberdayaan Petani Desa Wisata Margaluyu Melalui Agrowisata Edukatif Terpadu untuk Mengurangi Ketergantungan pada Tengkulak

Nana Trisnawati; Nafisah Yuliani; Euis Puspita Dewi

Nana Trisnawati Fakultas Ekonomi Dan Bisnis, Universitas Persada Indonesia Y.A.I, Jakarta, Indonesia
Nafisah Yuliani Informatika, Universitas Persada Indonesia Y.A.I, Jakarta, Indonesia
Euis Puspita Dewi Arsitektur, Universitas Persada Indonesia Y.A.I, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Educational Agritourism; Agricultural Diversification; Digital Marketing; Middlemen; Community Empowerment

Abstract

The dependence of highland vegetable farmers on middlemen in Margaluyu Tourism Village,
Pangalengan District, Bandung Regency, Indonesia, constrains farmers’ bargaining power and limits
the development of local economic value chains. Despite the village’s considerable geographical and agricultural potential, agricultural production has not been optimally integrated with tourism
activities. The main challenges faced by the community partners include limited value addition to
agricultural products, insufficient integration of agricultural production and tourism services,
inadequate agritourism business management, and limited direct and digital marketing capabilities.
This Community Partnership Program (Program Kemitraan Masyarakat [PKM]) aimed to
implement an Integrated Educational Agritourism model to establish new value chains through
product diversification, integrated business management, and direct digital marketing. The program
was designed to connect agricultural production, educational tourism experiences, business
management, and direct marketing to strengthen farmers’ bargaining positions and reduce their
dependence on middlemen. Implementation consisted of five stages: socialization and needs
assessment, training, technology and innovation adoption, mentoring and evaluation, and
sustainability strengthening. Activities included focus group discussions (FGDs), local potential
mapping, training in value-added production and educational agritourism, business management and
educational tour package development, digital marketing training, and the development of a pilot
interpretive trail in a chili plantation. The pilot trail comprised an entrance gate, a cultivation
learning area, a chili-picking area, garden and rice-field photo spots, a farmer storytelling pavilion
and weighing area, a photo spot overlooking the lake, and an exit area. Training evaluation involving
25 participants revealed an increase in the mean score from 1.20 to 4.00 across the three training
dimensions. These results indicate a substantial improvement in participants’ understanding of the
training materials, as reflected in the shift from predominantly low scores in the pre-test to the
highest score in the post-test. Specifically, the program enhanced participants’ initial knowledge of
value-added product development, educational agritourism activities, business management,
educational tour package development, and digital marketing. These findings suggest that an
integrated approach combining capacity building, practical training, and supporting infrastructure
can strengthen the community’s readiness to develop agricultural resources into value-added
products and educational tourism experiences. Further mentoring and implementation monitoring
are needed to determine whether these improvements in understanding translate into increased direct
sales, stronger bargaining power, and more sustainable local economic benefits.