Alternative solutions for subsidized fertilizer distribution in South Sulawesi: A system thinking approach

Fertilizer is an important means of production in the agricultural sector, decreasing arable land and population growth, making fertilizers play an increasingly important role in agricultural production as well as being the main driving force in increasing crop yields. However, one of the problems in the agricultural sector, especially for rice farming, is the scarcity of subsidized fertilizers, the problem is that every rice planting season is always a problem that farmers complain about, and the high price of non-subsidized fertilizers in the market. However, the South Sulawesi government said that it had realized 96% of subsidized fertilizers from the quota of 8.9 million tons. Reporting from the website economist.bisnis.com, the governor of South Sulawesi said the scarcity of subsidized fertilizers was because the planning and supervision system for farmers was not optimal. This proves that there are problems in the distribution of subsidized fertilizers in the South Sulawesi area, so it is one of the causes of fertilizer scarcity and causes a decrease in the productivity of rice crops. To overcome these problems, this study uses the systems thinking method to describe the distribution of fertilizers and their impact on rice productivity.