Green Economy and Public Policy in a Coffee Based Integrated Farming System: A Pathway to Sustainable Rural Development in Banjarsari Village, Magelang Regency

Abstract

The transition toward a green economy places rural areas at the center of sustainable development, yet most smallholder economies still depend on selling raw commodities at low prices. This study examines how a coffee based Integrated Farming System (IFS) can serve as a green economy strategy while identifying the public policy support required to sustain it, using Banjarsari Village in Magelang Regency, Central Java, as a case. A qualitatively dominant mixed approach was applied, combining a survey of forty-nine respondents, in depth interviews with thirty purposively selected informants, field observation, and a focus group discussion analysed thematically with the aid of ATLAS.ti. The findings show that the village holds substantial agroecological capital in the form of organic robusta coffee grown within an agroforestry landscape and a sizeable Java goat population, but its economy remains vulnerable because coffee is harvested only once a year and is largely traded as green bean, leaving farmers with weak bargaining power. An IFS that couples’ coffee agroforestry, goat husbandry, community based downstream processing, and agro educational tourism is proposed as a circular, low waste model that diversifies household income, conserves sloping land, and strengthens local institutions. The analysis further reveals that the model becomes durable only when it is anchored in coordinated public policy, including village regulation of priority commodities, a jurisdictional development roadmap, cooperative strengthening, and a university led living laboratory. The study contributes a replicable pathway that links green economy principles, public policy design, and the Sustainable Development Goals at the village scale.

Keywords:  green economy; integrated farming system; public policy; sustainable rural development; coffee agroforestry