The Strategy for Optimizing Grain Absorption in Rias Village, Toboali District, South Bangka Regency

Abstract

The problem of grain absorption in Rias Village, Toboali Subdistrict, is primarily driven by structural imbalances in the local grain market, resulting from the absence of Bulog as a purchasing institution during the harvest period. This condition has created an uncompetitive market structure in which middlemen dominate transactions and weaken farmers’ bargaining power. This study aims to determine priority strategies for optimizing grain absorption using a multicriteria decision-making approach. The research employed a survey method involving 12 expert respondents, including agricultural extension officers, Bulog partners, and leaders of farmer institutions, and was analyzed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). All pairwise comparison matrices satisfied the consistency requirement, with a Consistency Ratio (CR) ≤ 0.1. The results indicate that upstream market structure intervention is the top priority strategy (weight 0.4635), followed by the development and modernization of post-harvest infrastructure (weight 0.3368) and reform of Bulog’s financial regulations (weight 0.1997). These findings emphasize that the effectiveness of government price policy is not determined solely by price setting but depends heavily on market mechanisms and institutional strengthening at the local level. Policy implications highlight the necessity of structural, institution-based interventions to enable Bulog to function effectively as a price stabilizer at the village level.