Women and the Future of Mangrove in Meranti Island, Riau

Among the many preserved mangrove areas in Riau Province is the one located in the Meranti Islands Regency. However, the regency is prone to environmental pollution and destruction, so control efforts, namely prevention, management, and recovery, are needed to mitigate it. This study aims to explain women's involvement in the mangrove community's activities as well as their social position within said community. Their involvement will be able to explain their social position, whether they have the ability to make decisions on public activities or only act as objects of a patriarchal development process. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The main informants in this study were women who were directly involved in the mangrove community activities, while the villagers who were not directly involved acted as supporting informants. The village women who were involved in the mangrove forest rehabilitation are all married, aged 29 to 50 years old, and have completed elementary school. Each woman has specialized activities, such as seeding, planting, and making dodol, syrup, and chips. Their role in the mangrove community has a great potential to control the balance between ecological and socio-economic benefits of mangrove forests. However, their activities are not independent. Their involvement is passive as it remains under the management of a coastal conservation leader, and it only serves to help their husbands because the rehabilitation of coastal areas will help maintain the habitat of fish and marine animals, which are their husbands' source of income

Melothria scabra [Naudin] Provides New Opportunities for Agronomic Research

This manuscript attempts to bringMelothria scabra[Naudin] to the attention of agronomic researchers as an increasingly popularand economically important crop and to identify gaps in research that should beinvestigatedwithfuturestudies.Allrelevantpeerreviewedpublications were examined in this study, with 79% of the studies published since 2000 c.e., while the remainder of the studies provide historical context.Major gaps in the research involvingM. scabraoffers a new frontier in agronomic studies, and will increase agronomist’s knowledge of this uniquely meso-American crop species. In conclusion,M. scabrais an understudied crop with world-widecultivation, and offers many opportunities foragronomists to research the genetics, physiology, and morphology of this small melo

Financial Feasibility of Arabica Coffee Plantation Business Through Partnership Pattern in Solok Regency, West Sumatra

Lembah Gumanti District has the largest area of Arabica coffee in Solok Regency, with a production of 2588.8 tons in 2019. Some problems farmers face in developing Arabika coffee farming include a lack of knowledge of cultivation techniques and low selling price of coffee (cherry) beans at the farm gate. The Solok Radjo Cooperative emerged to solve farmers' problems and is willing to help develop Arabica coffee plantations in partnership. This study aims to: (1) describe the implementation of partnerships in Arabica coffee farming and (2) analyze the feasibility of arabica coffee farming with partnership pattern. A survey method was used involving 40 sample farmers selected using simple random sampling. Data analysis was carried out qualitatively to determine the implementation and benefits obtained by the partnering parties (farmers and Solok Radjo Cooperative). Quantitative analysis is intended to determine the financial feasibility of developing Arabica coffee with a partnership pattern. In the partnership system, the Solok Radjo Cooperative provides farmers assistance to use superior seeds, socialization of Arabica coffee cultivation and harvesting techniques, and willingness to buy coffee beans (cherry) from farmers with higher prices than local collectors. The benefit obtained by the Solok Radjo Cooperative is the guaranteed supply of Arabica coffee production with better quality. Arabica coffee plantation business through this partnership is feasible with a Net BC ratio of 2.43

Sustainable Food Sovereignty, a Biocultural Approach to Feeding

There are different relationships between people and nature. One of them is about the satisfaction of a basic need for survival: feeding, which in addition to being a human right, is also one of the most important concerns in the world since there are high levels of malnutrition, obesity, insufficiency, and food insecurity. One of the proposals to understand the link between people and nature related to feeding is food sovereignty, which was conceived by civil society to re-signify the role of peasants and their autonomy. This paper is a result of a theoretical reflection to propose a different vision of food sovereignty based on sustainability. Sustainable food sovereignty could promote the visibility and improvement of the different relationships between people and nature throw sustainable agriculture, self-consumption and sustainable consumption, and fair distribution and trad

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Productivity of Smallholder Tea Farming in Solok Regency, West Sumatra

This study aims to analyze the factors affecting the productivity of smallholder tea farming in Solok Regency. Sixty-five tea farmers, selected using a simple random sampling approach, were involved in this study. The study reveals that urea fertilizer, SP-36 fertilizer, insecticides, labor, plant age, and seedling varieties significantly affect tea yield at the level of α = 0.10. Farmers can increase the yield of tea farming by increasing fertilizer and labor and intensive pest and disease control. Gambung variety produces a higher yield than TRI, and the yield increases with the age of the plant

A review on ethno-medicinal plants used in west Kalimantan

The purpose of the current study is to review ethno-medicinal plant used by natives in West Kalimantan Province in last five years. The methods used is gathering earlier publications in journals completed with pharmacological evidence of local medicinal plants. The present review result reported that 346 specieses belonging to 95 families have been utilized in West Kalimantan Province. Zingiberceae has the top number of plant of families (25) followed by Rubiaceae (17), Fabaceae (16), Asteraceae (14), Euphorbiaceae (13), Poaceae (13), Verbenaceae (13), Liliaceae (10), other families (<10).  The tabulated plant species in this study are frequently used as herbal medicine for the treatment of miscellaneous deseases and the medication safety of local people. Parts of plant used as herbal medicine are leaves (46.1%) followed roots (15.7%), fruits (9.5%), rhizomes (6.7%), all parts (5.9%), stems (5.4%), seeds (2.3%), saps (1.3%), pericarps (1.0%), flowers (0.8%), shoots (0.8%), stalks (0.8%), tubers (0.8%), and twigs (0.3%). The majorities of used methods for traditional medicine are decoction and infusion. The information of this current review includes local names, species, families, used parts, and medical uses. All the medicinal plants reported in this study have been used by West Kalimantan people for the treatment of various desease

The Organoleptic Test Formulations Snakehead Fish Flour Based Functional Cookies as An Alternative Snack For Stunting Toddlers

The substitution of Snakehead fish flour to make the cookies have the function of increasing nutrient. This study analyzes the effects of Snakehead fish flour on the sensory characteristics of cookies. This experimental study used a completely random design. The first step of the study was to characterize and develop snakehead fish flour. The second step was to determine functional cookie formulation with four treatments: 0%, 10%, 15%, and 20% snakehead fish flour. Cookies were then evaluated for their hedonic evaluation. As the results, the organoleptic study in the form of a hedonic test for 30 semi-trained panelists showed all categories except taste were not significantly different at p>0.05. The highest acceptance percentage for adding snakehead fish flour was 20% in taste significantly. In conclusion, the acceptability in the taste of respondents showed that snakehead fish flour treatment had a significant effect (p<0.05).Â

Food Security Assessment Framework in Armenia: Key Aspects for Further Development

Comprehensive assessment of the Food security situation, analyses of its trends, and early projections are not simple tasks and, therefore, require the application of a well-developed methodological framework and tools. The present article is dedicated to the Food security assessment framework in Armenia, identification of shortfalls in its methodology, and drawing practical recommendations for improvement. In general, Food security assessment in Armenia is based on methodological guidelines provided by UN FAO. However, there is room to improve adaptation in some areas, address local specifics and needs, and enlarge applied tools. Particularly, we discuss the following potential directions for further improvements: 1) synchronization of existing statistical systems and introduction of mutual verification and adjustment mechanisms, 2) adjustments in the calculation of food consumption volumes and food self-sufficiency data, 3) introduction of new aggregated and integral indicators for reflecting different aspects of the Food security situation and 4) improve timelines for data availability, especially period of summarizing and publication of Living Conditions Survey results. It should be noted that, although the discussion is based on the methodology of Food security assessment in Armenia, the issues raised relate to many developing countries around the world, which mostly use the same methodological framework

Arabica Coffee Development Model in Alleviating Poverty in West Sumatra

Arabica coffee has promising market potential in the world market, which reaches 85%. However, national coffee commodity production has been dominated by Robusta coffee which reaches 90% and only 10% of production is Arabica coffee. Given the opportunity of this Arabica coffee market, the West Sumatra government tried to develop this type of coffee. Solok Regency is an area that develops Arabica Coffee rapidly so that it can become the second largest Arabica coffee growing area in the last 3 years. The study aims to: (1) Measure the proportion of smallholder farmers whose income is below the poverty line and the severity of the poverty situation; (2) Analyze the influence of economic and non-economic factors on the poverty rate of coffee farmers. This research will be conducted in Solok Regency which is selected purposively with the consideration that this area has a high poverty rate and has a rapid growth in arabica coffee growing area. The results showed that the poverty rate of Arabica coffee farmers is quite large with a Head-count index of 0.50 meaning that as many as 50% of farmers have incomes that are below the poverty line. Arabica coffee farmers who are members of cooperatives have a higher poverty rate compared to non-cooperative farmers both from the Headcount Index and from the Poverty Gap Index and Poverty Severity Index. This is because cooperative farmers have no other source of income and are very dependent on coffee farming on narrow land. Factors that affect the poverty rate of Arabica coffee farmers are assets and being members of cooperatives. The existence of cooperatives will be able to increase opportunities for farmers to gain access to economic facilities, one of which is access to financing sources, so that it will be able to encourage farmers to develop their businesses and open new businesses to increase their income.To increase the income of Arabica coffee farmers, there needs to be policies to encourage farmers to open other businesses so as to increase farmers' incomes. Diversification of business becomes very important because it will be able to help farmers to get out of poverty

The Effectiveness of Village Funds for Community Empowerment Program

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of community empowerment using village funds in developed and developing villages. This research employed a survey method on multiple case studies involving 70 respondents. Data were analyzed using a quantitative approach. The results showed that the effectiveness of community empowerment program is more effective in the developed village. The variables of community awareness, participation, independence, and income have a positive and significant effect on the effectiveness of the community empowerment program