<![CDATA[This study analyzes local vulnerabilities experienced by agricultural communities in Blitar Regency and formulates the Kampung Tani Tangguh Blitar model as a local economic development policy framework. A qualitative multi-site design was applied in eight villages across Wates, Panggungrejo, Binangun, and Ponggok Districts. Data were collected through field observations and in-depth interviews with 24 farmers and analyzed interactively and thematically using NVivo. The findings reveal interconnected economic, ecological, market, and institutional vulnerabilities, including unstable income, rising input and water costs, crop-failure risks, soil degradation, and weak bargaining power. Farmers respond through defensive strategies such as side jobs, borrowing, reduced household consumption, family labor mobilization, and low-risk cropping choices. The study contributes by reframing these survival practices from a rural livelihood issue into a policy problem of farmers' economic resilience. The proposed model integrates collective input institutions, farmer water banks, healthy-soil and integrated pest-management field schools, collective marketing based on price information, and household-scale downstream processing. Unlike conventional empowerment programs centered on training or seasonal assistance, the model combines cost reduction, risk management, market governance, and local value-added creation. It offers an adoptable pathway for village planning, food security, rural poverty reduction, and micro-enterprise development.]]>
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