Pola Kemitraan Usahatani Teh di Lahan Perkebunan dan Kehutanan

Tea Farming Partnership Patterns on Plantation and Forestry Land

Abstract

Tea is a strategic plantation commodity in Indonesia whose management increasingly involves partnership arrangements between farmers and land management institutions to support sustainable land utilization. Differences in land status between plantation and forest areas are assumed to influence the form and mechanisms of partnerships implemented. This study aimed to analyze and compare tea farming partnership patterns across these two land functions. A qualitative descriptive approach with a comparative study design was conducted in the PPTK PT RPN plantation area and the PT Perhutani forest partnership area in Bandung Regency, West Java. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and documentation, and analyzed using an interactive qualitative analysis model. The results indicate that partnerships on plantation land have developed into a more structured contract farming system characterized by technical support and greater management flexibility. In contrast, partnerships on forest land have evolved through long-term profit-sharing arrangements regulated by forestry policies, emphasizing ecological sustainability. These findings demonstrate that land status and function play an important role in shaping institutional structures and management orientations in tea farming partnerships.