AGRICULTURAL ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: CASE STUDY OF GARUT, INDONESIA

This study aims at proposing a business strategy to maintain the agricultural sector in Garut Regency during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Regardless of the fact that all sectors need special strategies to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still limited studies focusing on entrepreneurship strategies in the agriculture sector. The method used in this research was descriptive-qualitative with Garut Regency, Indonesia as the case study. Observations were made for a period of one year from October 2019 to October 2020 to observe the resilience of the agricultural sector in Garut district, Indonesia, as primary data and literature review was also used to support this analysis. The data collection results show a reduction in sales and production during the Covid-19 Pandemic due to physical distancing and other social restrictions policies that hinder activities, including the process of purchasing and distributing goods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agricultural sector of Garut Regency used a closed-loop strategy, namely by establishing cooperation between farmers and the industrial as well as retail sectors. The success of implementing this strategy is shown from the stable amount of chili agricultural production during the pandemic, as shown in Tables 1 and 2. Therefore, to support this strategy, a supporting strategy that considers internal and external factors in the agricultural sector is needed. This study uses SWOT analysis to determine important aspects in formulating solutions to agricultural problems during the pandemic. Based on the identified factors, various strategies were obtained to strengthen the economic structure of farmers from the short to the long term. As a result, farmers are expected to increase production and welfare as well as can become a momentum for strengthening national food independence. It is hoped that this research can be used as a reference for other researchers in their research and add insight.