No abstract

No abstract

Cocoa is the cash crop for smallholder farmers in Southeast Sulawesi. In the past two decades cocoa is the leading commodity as the valuable crop in the dry land. Nowadays, farmers are facing the problem with low productivity due to aging crop, pest and disease attack. In order to increase household income and improving the productivity, research and development are needed with providing assistance and advancing to smallholder farmers. The activities aims to: a) Improve the knowledge and skills of farmers in cocoa farming in Kolaka Regency, b) Accelerate the adoption of cocoa technology innovations to users. This study was carried out in May till December 2017, in Lalombaa village, Kolaka District, Kolaka Regency. The focus of activities in the first year is mentoring and learning for cocoa cultivation farmers. Survey with a structured questionnaire guide were conducted and description methode was analyzed and presented in tabular form and interpreted descriptively. The results of the study showed that, from an economic point of view, that farmers who applied the recommended technology were able to get an income of IDR 22,680,000, - / ha per year with R/C 2.04, means that the farming is profitable. Meanwhile, the existing farmers only get IDR 10,615,000, - / ha.

Background: Rice self-sufficiency is still a great concern in Indonesia; in order to feed the population of 270 million people, farmers must implement new technology to boost rice production. This study aimed to provide information on the differences between direct seed planting and its conventional counterpart in terms of productivity and farmer income. Secondly, we aimed to characterize the productivity and farmer income for two legowo planting systems (legowo 4:1 and legowo 2:1). Finally, farmers’ perceptions of the legowo implementation were evaluated. Methods: This study was carried out in Konawe District at the farm level in Karandu Village, Anggotoa Sub District of Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The research design was implemented to allow comparison between legowo 4:1 and legowo 2:1. 60 farmers who implemented legowo 2:1 and legowo 4:1 respectively, were selected. Moreover, 30 farmers who did not implement both 4:1 and 2:1 were selected as the conventional planting method. This research design was implemented in order to compare between legowo and non legowo planting systems, as mentioned above, 60 respondents will compare with 30 farmers in terms of yield and economic advantage. Lastly, in order to determine technological perceptions, a total of 150 farmers were interviewed. Results:  The study case results showed that direct seed planting is much more profitable than its conventional counterpart. The introduction of legowo 4:1 was highly significant in boosting rice production compared to legowo 2:1. In terms of perception, we found that the low cost and the availability of legowo are the most important parameters for the adoption of this technology. Conclusions: In summary, we recommend the implementation of the legowo 4:1 planting system to boost rice productivity. By reducing labor costs, the direct seeding method increased farmers’ income.