The empowerment of smallholders is part of sustainable agricultural development to increase production. This study aims to identify the characteristics of beef cattle farmers and social capital, and also to determine the effect of social capital on the empowerment of smallholder beef cattle farmers in Sragen Regency. The study was conducted in June 2021 in Plupuh District by using purposive sampling method to determine the location and the respondents. The number of respondents was 100 smallholders who had at least 1 year of experience in raising beef cattle. Data were collected through direct interviews with the smallholders and were analyzed descriptively by using multiple linear regression analysis together with the F test and R2 test in order to determine the effect of social capital on empowerment. The results showed that most of the respondents had a low level of education, and the majority of the respondents’ occupations were laborers. It also showed that the respondents had a side job as a smallholder and the status of livestock ownership was their own. Subsequently, the regression analysis obtained Y = 4.517 – 0.525X1 + 0.617X2 +0.153X3 - 0.186X4 + 0.550X5 and it is interpreted that all social capital variables consisting of willingness, openness, encouragement, activeness, and participation simultaneously affect the empowerment of beef cattle smallholders. In the coefficient of determination test (R2), the results obtained is 0.321 which implied that the social capital variable had an influence of only 32.1% on the empowerment of beef cattle smallholders, while the remaining 67.9% was influenced by other variables not included in this study. Therefore, it was concluded that social capital only had an effect of 32.1% on the empowerment of livestock smallholders.

Pare Village, Selogiri District, Boyolali Regency, has a high enough beef cattle, which serves as an opportunity for the community to be developed through an improved economy from beef cattle fattening, both from the main product in the form of meat and the by-products in the form of livestock manure. The utilization of livestock manure into organic fertilizer does not only increases income but also creates environmentally friendly conditions. This study aims to increase the knowledge and skills of farmers through training on the production technology of organic and liquid fertilizers in order to increase their income. It was carried out on May 20th to 16th September 2021 and the method used include Focus Group Discussions (FGD), counseling, training on production technology of organic and liquid fertilizers as well as demonstration plots of both. The materials used in processing organic fertilizers include livestock manure, urea, stardec, and a dolomite while liquid fertilizers include urine empon-empon (galangal, temu ireng, ginger, kencur, turmeric, sambiloto, garlic, dlingo and bengle), molasses and EM4. The result showed an increase in the knowledge of farmers after attending extension and training on the manufacture of these fertilizers which helps to increase the welfare of the community. In conclusion, people in Pare become more empowered with the application of organic fertilizer production technology such that there is an increase in community income.

This research aims to identify the barriers to the spread of integrated paddy and beef cattle farming and the influence of these barriers on Indonesian farmers’ acceptance of integrated farming. Quantitative methods were used to examine the barriers to integrated agriculture acceptance. A direct survey was conducted in which questionnaires were distributed to respondents. In addition, a research framework for the acceptance of integrated agriculture was developed using the technology acceptance model (TAM). Several data analysis methods were employed, including descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM). Data were obtained from 310 organic paddy farmers in Boyolali Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The data were analysed using LISREL 8.8 software to assess the influence of barriers on the acceptance of integrated farming. SEM yielded the following results: x2 degree 1.77, GFI 0.92, AGFI 0.90, CFI 0.94, and RMSEA 0.06. As a result, we concluded that the goodness-of-fit index met the recommended criteria and that the model corresponded to the data provided, which allowed us to continue with the hypothesis testing. The results of hypothesis testing showed that the factors that significantly influenced the acceptance of integrated farming were barriers in the areas of production, knowledge, government, and economics. The practical implication of the research results is that by reducing barriers to production, knowledge, government, and economics, the acceptance of paddy and beef cattle integration can be increased.