Introduction

The literature review in Chapters 2 and 3 as well as the conceptual framework for Agropolitan Development in Chapter 4 are used as the basis for selection of research area.

The conformance of the candidate research areas with the criteria set in Chapter 4 was assessed through first hand observations from field trips, interviews with local officials and the analysis of secondary data from previous studies and official publications.

The fieldtrips to the candidate research areas were conducted from May to November 2005, following the completion of the literature review. There were four candidates for the research area. These candidates were recommended by the Indonesian Agropolitan Development Committee based on their respective progress in small urban center development¹². The recommendation used as the basis for the shortlist is in line with the research objective of the study. The emphasis is on the presence of an agricultural-based small urban center, and how this town interacts with its hinterland.

Ideally, the small urban center should function as a center for collection for rural produce and for distribution of urban goods and services. The four research areas included in the shortlist are Pacet sub-district in West Java’s Cianjur district, Batu municipality in East Java, IV Angkat Candung district in West Sumatra’s Agam district and Ampel sub-district in Central Java’s Boyolali sub-district.

12 The Agropolitan Development Commitee is an Inter-Ministerial Commitee, which includes among others, the Spatial Planning Division of the Ministry of Public Works and the Center for Regional Studies of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). The author of this thesis worked closely with the commitee members and

IV Angkat Candung sub-district was visited in July 2005. This sub-district has a market center equipped with a cold storage facility that was installed only a week prior to the fieldtrip. There were collection activities in the market center, and the cold storage was used to store, sort and pack vegetables for shipping to Singapore. However, the new market center still has empty store lots. These lots were previously used for the provision of consumer goods and commercial services. The vacant lots show that IV Angkat Candung has not played the role of a provider of urban goods and services.

The fieldtrip to Pacet sub-district was conducted during August 2005. The area has a considerably steep elevation. The new roads have allowed access to the farms for mini trucks. However, the bulking facilities installed in the designated market center are not used by the vegetable growers. Instead of utilizing the market center for distribution, the harvests are directly transported to the nearby Cipanas market or to Jakarta and Bogor cities. In chapter 3, it was shown that Pacet falls under the influence of the nearby large cities. This explains why the development of new urban function centers in Pacet have failed. The local residents work as landless peasants, since the lands are owned by people from Jakarta. Thus, the benefits of the new developments are enjoyed by the wealthy urban residents instead of the local residents in Pacet.

The fieldtrip to Batu municipality was conducted in November 2005. This municipality was initially a part of Malang sub-district, but was split into a separate municipality due to the growth of economic activities. The areas development is contributed largely by the growth of apple farms. The apple farms’ forward linkages are to a certain degree concentrated in the core area of the municipality. The apples are sent to the core area for bulking, and they are either sorted for packaging or further processed

into juice, concentrates, cakes and other derivative products. There are also financial services and consumer goods shops in the core area. However, most of the apple farms have been converted into villas. A large number of residents in Surabaya, the nearby metropolitan area, visit Batu during weekends. This trend has shifted Batu’s main economic activity from apple cultivation to agro-tourism. The only remaining apple farms are the large farms. These farms produce derivative products of apples mainly for the purpose of attracting tourists. Domestic tourists can visit the apple farm, pick the apples and see the processing of apple into various derivative products. Most of Batu’s residents now work in the tourism sector. One of the most common occupations is the housekeeping of the villas.

Batu is therefore a declining Agropolitan that has lost its focus on agriculture. The area may require significant government-driven development projects to revive the agricultural sector. From the field observations, it can also be seen that the decline in apple cultivation is related to land degradation. The practice of over-intensive cropping that was not accompanied by proper land management has led to soil degradation that has reduced the quality and quantity of the harvests. Thus, there are two forces that pressurize the land owners to sell their land. First is the high demand for villas, and second is the degrading quality and quantity of harvests due to soil degradation.

Ampel sub-district was visited in November 2005. Ampel sub-district has a well-developed market center that has two main roles. First, the market center provides financial services and farming equipment. Second, the market center is a center for collection for rural produce and has off-farm food processing activities. The majority of the residents are working in the cattle-related industries. The market center is located in

the central part of the area, and the hinterland villages surround the market center.

Interviews were conducted with local officials. Ampel is a good example of an Agropolitan region, based on the functions of the small urban center. The area meets the criterion of having an effectively-functioning agricultural based small urban center. Thus, it was decided to use the Ampel sub-district as the research area.