Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract
The Farmer Card (Kartu Tani) policy was introduced in 2016 to improve the distribution of subsidized fertilizer and enhance farmers’ welfare. However, its local implementation continues to face significant challenges. This study examines how the Farmer Card policy is implemented and interpreted by street-level actors in Banyumas Regency, as well as how their discretion affects farmers’ access to subsidized fertilizer and empowerment. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through interviews, observation, and document analysis. The study applies Michael Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy theory and Naila Kabeer’s Empowerment framework. The findings reveal that policy implementation is uneven and heavily dependent on the discretion of local implementers to cope with technical and administrative constraints. While such discretion helps maintain fertilizer access, it also generates informal practices and reinforces farmers’ dependency. In terms of empowerment, the policy mainly produces administrative access rather than substantive empowerment that strengthens farmers’ economic independence and bargaining power.
Abstrak
Kebijakan Kartu Tani diluncurkan pemerintah sejak 2016 untuk memperbaiki distribusi pupuk bersubsidi dan meningkatkan kesejahteraan petani. Namun, implementasinya di tingkat lokal masih menghadapi berbagai kendala. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis bagaimana kebijakan Kartu Tani di Kabupaten Banyumas dijalankan dan ditafsirkan oleh aktor lapangan, serta dampak diskresi mereka terhadap akses pupuk dan pemberdayaan petani. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus melalui wawancara, observasi, dan studi dokumentasi. Analisis didasarkan pada teori Street-Level Bureaucracy Michael Lipsky dan teori Pemberdayaan Naila Kabeer. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa implementasi Kartu Tani tidak berjalan seragam dan sangat bergantung pada diskresi aktor lapangan untuk mengatasi keterbatasan teknis dan administratif. Diskresi tersebut membantu menjaga akses pupuk, tetapi sekaligus memunculkan praktik informal dan ketergantungan petani. Dari sisi pemberdayaan, kebijakan ini baru menghasilkan pemberdayaan administratif dan belum mampu meningkatkan kemandirian ekonomi maupun posisi tawar petani secara substantif.
Kata kunci: kartu tani; kebijakan pupuk bersubsidi; implementasi kebijakan; street-level bureaucracy; pemberdayaan petani