Pesticides are one of the main production factors needed in shallots cultivation. The appropriate use of pesticides can increase productivity, but inappropriate use of pesticides can harm farmers, contaminate crops and polluting the surrounding environment. This study aimed to describe the use of pesticides on shallot cultivation in Solok Regency, West Sumatra. Data was collected by interviewing 95 respondents of shallot farmers. Data parameters were obtained regarding pesticide technical application, pesticide application time, brand and amounts of pesticides used, and knowledge of the active ingredients used. Data was processed quantitatively descriptively, and it showed that most of the farmers mix two or more chemical pesticides for each application, and generally, farmers did not know the names and functions of the active ingredients in the pesticides, but they did not mix pesticides with the same active ingredients. In the dry season, most farmers spray every three days, while in the rainy season it increases to once every two days. This study is expected to be a reference for policymakers to be able to provide an extension program to use appropriate and correct pesticides according to the function and content of active ingredients to create a balanced agroecosystem. The government needs to conduct technical guidance on integrated pest and disease control, and disseminate environmentally friendly pest control technology.

Mangosteen has the highest contribution to Indonesian fruit export under the national fruit trade balance deficit. As this fruit is mainly cultivated by small-scale farmers in rural areas in an agroforestry pattern, mangosteen is essential for farmers’ income and environmental sustainability. However, there are noticeable gaps between the mangosteen production and export demand which means the potential market for Indonesia is to increase export. On the other hand, some bottlenecks along the supply chain of exporting mangosteen in Indonesia. This study employs the value chain analysis to evaluate the governance of mangosteen export. Results show that the primary issue is the transparency of the standard quality of exported mangosteen along the supply chains. The significant differences between the local and exported market prices are expected to be the disadvantages farmers face. The information on the mangosteen quality between farmers and traders is different, potentially decreasing the prices received by farmers as the standard in the farmers’ levels is higher than in the traders. Government and farmer groups should work with traders to resolve this problem to enhance the fairness of the benefit earned by each actor along the supply chain. Suppose this information is transferred transparently among actors along the supply chain. In that case, it will not only enhance the farmers’ income but also motivate them to increase productivity and quality, eventually enhancing the export of Indonesian mangosteen.

Horticultural technology innovation is needed for agricultural development to fulfil nutrition and increase economic value. The research objectives were (1) Obtaining data on the socio-economic characteristics of agriculture on dry land, (2) Analyzing vegetable farming on dry land and (3) Identifying potential development of vegetables on dry land with a dry climate. The number of respondents was 31 peoples. Application of low external input technology for intercropping chili with shallots on dry land, carried out with farmer groups and extension workers on co-operators farmer lands. The results showed that intercropping between chili and tobacco was feasible with feasibility level of the R/C ratio was 3.01. Through this technology, the chili productivity was 10.67 t ha−1 and there is an additional of the yield of shallots one crop with the productivity of 17.33 t ha−1 of wet bulbs. Average productivity per ha for cayenne pepper is 6-7 t ha−1, while the average wet bulb productivity was 15 t ha−1 for sub-optimal land. This means that the application of horticultural technology on dry land can increase the productivity of cayenne pepper and shallots by 64.1 and 15.53%, respectively. Intercropping between chili and shallot is the best choice for chili cultivation on dry land.

Currently, the supply of national citrus has not been able to meet domestic needs, especially for yellow citrus which was still dependent on imports. The trade balance of Indonesian citrus always deficit, in 2018 Indonesian citrus exported amounted to 1,220 tons and the number of imported was much higher reaching 85,273 tons. The government’s future program was directed to produce yellow citrus which termed “keprokisasi” in the context of import substitution. Indonesian Center for Horticulture Research and Development (ICHORD) have produced superior varieties of mandarin citrus namely Batu 55, which have characteristics that are seemly with consumer, even it is considered superior to imported citrus in freshness. To increase the population of Batu 55, in 2018-2019 the Ministry of Agriculture has distributed 38,450 disease-free seedlings to growers in various regions in Indonesia. The study was to evaluate the program in the distribution of Mandarin citrus of Cv. Batu 55 superior variety. The results found that through the program can be estimated that in the next 4 years that the production will increase 481.55 - 1,284.13 tons, and it will have sustainability. At the age of 11 years, the production ranges from 3,021.48 - 4,154.53 tons. For that reason, the development of the program can reduce the dependence on imported citrus.

Increased awareness on the overall health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables significantly contributes to Indonesia’s rising consumption. These plants are highly expended, and are particularly cultivated in tropical climate regions. Papaya is described as an important fruit, and is sufficiently nutritional, readily available anytime of the year, and also very affordable. In addition, the country enjoys a wider variety, including Merah Delima, although, lesser information is obtainable about farmers’ preferences, in terms of varietal characteristics, compared to consumers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preferences for Merah Delima species and the resulting characteristics required to potentially match the farmers’ demands, using 2019 survey data from East Java, Central Java, Riau, and West Sumatra provinces. Subsequently, 35 small scale papaya farmers were interviewed to obtain necessary information related to the performance and attributes of the selected variety. The results showed major preferences for samples with red meat coloration (87.10%), medium-size range between 0.7-1.5 kg (71.43%), sweet to very sweet taste (100%), and hard texture (74.19%), with an oval shape (75%). Varietal characteristics are believed to differ across cultivation zones, depending on the agro-ecosystems and farming processes. Furthermore, the earlier mentioned properties were generally suitable to the farmers’ demands. These findings also serve as important guidance, in order to probe deeper into the development of varieties with relevant traits towards addressing farmers’ specifications.