The Determinants of Sustainable Agricultural Technology Adoption

Pertanian memiliki peran penting karena lebih dari 60% populasi dunia bergantung pada pertanian sebagai mata pencaharian. Salah satu faktor penyumbang  besar terhadap pertumbuhan produktivitas pertanian adalah penerapan teknologi baru.  Teknologi baru pertanian diharapkan berperan sebagai jalan penting untuk keluar dari kemiskinan di sebagian besar negara berkembang. Namun, realita menunjukkan tingkat adopsi teknologi pertanian dianggap masih relatif rendah. Makalah ini merupakan scientific review yang merangkum dan menganalisis hasil-hasil penelitian tentang adopsi teknologi pertanian. Tujuan makalah adalah untuk mengamati pengalaman di sejumlah negara terkait adopsi teknologi pertanian dan menentukan faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi adopsi serta keberlanjutan suatu adopsi teknologi. Hasil studi mengungkapkan bahwa keputusan petani untuk mengadopsi teknologi baru bergantung pada interaksi dinamis antara karakteristik teknologi dan kondisi lingkungannya. Beberapa aspek yang memengaruhi adopsi teknologi pertanian antara lain aspek teknologi, ekonomi dan keuangan, sosial dan kelembagaan, serta usaha pertanian dan karakteristik rumah tangga petani. Namun, penentu adopsi teknologi pertanian tidak selalu tunggal, melainkan kombinasi dari beberapa faktor sehingga untuk memacu adopsi teknologi harus memperhitungkan semua faktor penentunya. Pendekatan yang komprehensif menjadi pilihan terbaik untuk menyebarluaskan teknologi baru pertanian. Pemerintah dapat menjadi fasilitator untuk adopsi teknologi dan memastikan teknologi yang disebarkan bermanfaat bagi petani

Gaining added value of chili (Capsicum annum L.) through processing and its challenges: A case in Bandung, West Java

Processing fresh chili into various chili products can generate added value. This study aims to assess the added value gained by processing fresh chili into its products and its challenges. Primary data was obtained through interviews using a structured questionnaire with the management of KWT Intan in Ciwidey, Bandung, which processes fresh chili into dried chili, chili powder, and chili sauce (sambal). This research was conducted in October 2019. Added value was calculated quantitatively using the Hayami method. The results show that the added value generated from processing fresh chili into dried chili is 17,743 IDR/kg, chili powder is 71,053 IDR/kg, and sambal is 326,128 IDR/kg. The results indicate the greatest added value obtained by processing fresh chili into sambal, which is a final product. However, developing the added value of chili products faces some challenges. The utilization of facility assistance and human resource skills is still limited, while consumers still prefer to consume fresh chili than processed ones. In an effort to increase the added value of chili and improve farmers' income, the government is expected to provide relevant regulations and assistance in the form of processing facilities and infrastructure as well as training, socialization, and promotion

Kinerja Industri Kakao di Indonesia

Indonesia is among the largest cocoa producing countries in the world. Various policies for cocoa production and quality improvement has been issued, but it still deals with some constraints. This paper reviews cocoa Indonesia’s industry performance and its development strategy. Over the past decade, Indonesia’s cocoa production kept declining due to decreased mature crop areas, unproductive crops enhancement, lower yield, and conversion of cocoa fields. Cocoa plantation is dominated by smallholders, limited capital, less knowledge, lack of technology access, and restricted market information. Government’s role is crucial in facilitating efforts to increase productivity, quality, and markets access besides to developing its downstream industries. Developing cocoa industry is not only the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture but it involves other institutions, i.e., local governments, NGOs, businessmen, research institutions, and investors. It is expected to improve Indonesia’s cocoa competitiveness in international market. AbstrakIndonesia termasuk negara produsen kakao terbesar di dunia. Pemerintah telah berupaya mengeluarkan berbagai kebijakan untuk peningkatan produksi dan mutu kakao, namun pengembangan kakao di Indonesia masih mengalami berbagai masalah. Tulisan ini menganalisis kinerja industri kakao serta strategi pengembangannya di Indonesia melalui penelaahan literatur. Selama dekade terakhir produksi kakao Indonesia terus menurun karena berkurangnya luas areal tanaman menghasilkan, meningkatnya tanaman tidak produktif, penurunan produktivitas, dan konversi lahan kakao. Perkebunan kakao didominasi perkebunan rakyat skala kecil, bermodal terbatas, serta akses terbatas terhadap teknologi dan informasi pasar. Peran pemerintah sangat penting dalam fasilitasi upaya peningkatan produktivitas, mutu, akses pasar, serta pengembangan industri hilirnya. Upaya pengembangan kakao bukan hanya tanggung jawab Kementerian Pertanian, tetapi bersifat lintas sektoral. Peran serta pemerintah daerah, LSM, pelaku bisnis, lembaga penelitian, dan investor sangat besar untuk mengembangkan dan membenahi agribisnis kakao di Indonesia sehingga daya saingnya meningkat di pasar internasional

Sustainability status, sensitive and key factors for increasing rice production: A case study in West Java, Indonesia.

The Indonesian rice production balance has managed to show a slightly consistent surplus recently, in the period of 2010 to 2021, but the country has continued to import rice to secure its rice reserve. The country has also made some efforts to increase its domestic rice production and, at the same time, faced ecological, socio-cultural, economic, institutional, and technological sustainability challenges. Previous studies on rice sustainability have shown varied results on the sustainability statuses and sensitive factors in Indonesia, yet there have been limited studies identifying key factors systematically. To provide more solid empirical evidence on this subject, a study to expand the scope to other sites with an additional analysis of the key factors is perceivably needed. This study aims to verify the sustainability status and identify sensitive factors as well as key factors for increasing rice production. The primary data were collected by interviewing officials from various agencies at the central and regional levels and several discussion groups of 40 participants, including farmers. In addition, secondary data were also collected from various ministries/agencies at the central and regional levels. Data analyses use a set of indicators, i.e., the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) approach and the Matrix of Cross Impact Multiplications Applied to Classification (MICMAC) approach. The results show that the multidimensional sustainability status of increasing rice production in Bandung district is moderate, whereas sustainability status per dimension shows variations from poor to moderate. Fourteen out of 50 attributes are identified as sensitive factors influencing the sustainability of rice production. Six key factors are found to influence the sustainability of rice production. The study concludes that the sustainability status of increasing rice production in Bandung district is moderate, with variation across dimensions. The sustainability of increasing rice production in the study site is influenced by those 14 sensitive factors and those six key factors. This study recommends a number of major policies/programs to increase the sustainability of rice production, which are as follows: implementation of the Regional Spatial Plan, promotion of the application of best practices of farming management (organic fertilizers and pesticides), promotion of the use of agricultural machinery, and provision of farmer assistance for pre-harvest and postharvest production facilities, as well as farm financing. Future research should expand study sites to some other rice production centers with different attributes to enrich our understanding of the subject of rice sustainability