The Impact of the Use of Village Funds on Sustainable Agricultural Development

Abstract

The priority of the Village Fund is for the village development programs and activities. The relatively large value of Village Funds in Indonesia is expected to affect the welfare of village communities and also sustainable. The problem is that not all villages have the same level of development, so the management of village resources cannot be uniformed. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the Village Fund, especially for agricultural development. The location of this study included three village typologies in the West Java provinces, DI Yogyakarta, Riau, East Kalimantan, and Gorontalo. There are 166 respondents selected, consisted of (1) policymaking institutions and the service institutions leader; (2) key informants; (3) farmer groups; and (4) extension agents. Data were analyzed by descriptive explanative. The results showed that the Village Fund affected increasing farmers' production and income. The process of transporting production facilities and yields has become easier through the improvement of infrastructure farming and facilities. In the future, Village Funds aside for infrastructure development should be allocated for community economic empowerment, i.e., training in agricultural, livestock, and fisheries skills according to the village's potential, so that it can support sustainable agricultural development in rural areas.