Abstract. Yusuf R, Tang UM, Karnila R, Fuadi I, Pato U. 2020. Ecological sustainability of rice farms in Siak District, Riau, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 3797-3804. The research was conducted in Siak District, Riau Province, Indonesia from January to July 2018 in the four subdistricts of rice production centers. The purpose of this study was to identify the ecological conditions of rice farming, analyze the index and ecological sustainability status of lowland rice farming, and analyze the role of each ecological attribute that will have sensitivity to the management of wetland rice in the development of rice farming in the Siak District in the near future. There were 203 sample farmers selected by purposive sampling. Data collection was done by interview and field observation. The sustainability was analyzed using the Rap-Rice method with Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). The results of the Rap-Rice analysis of eight ecological attributes were analyzed; five attributes provided high sensitivity for Sungai Mandau, and three attributes provided high sensitivity for the subdistricts of Bunga Raya, Sabak Auh, and Sungai Apit. Attributes that provided high sensitivity for all subdistricts were attributes of land suitability with land use plans and land conversion rates. The average attributes of ownership of the farm area provided high sensitivity for only three subdistricts (Sabak Auh, Sungai Apit, Sungai Mandau). Based on ecological conditions, analysis of wetland rice farming in Siak District showed a sustainable category for Bunga Raya (56.10%), Sabak Auh (52.80%), and Sungai Mandau (54.90%) and less sustainability for Sungai Apit (48.80%).

Research on the application of fermented plant extracts to increase the antioxidants of mustard greens has taken in the experimental garden of Horticulture Seed Center in Riau Province, from June to October 2018. This study used a completely randomized design with six treatments and three replications. (A) = neem leaves; (B) = sour-sop leaves; (C) = the crown of the god; (D) = lemongrass; (E) = mixture of plant extracts (neem leaves, sour-sop leaves, god’s crown fruit and lemongrass); and (F) = control. The parameters observed in this study were vitamin C content (mg/100 g), total phenol content (mg/100 g) and total antioxidant activity (% inhibition). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of several kinds of plant extracts (neem leaves, soursop leaves, god’s crown fruit and lemongrass and a mixture of several plant extracts) fermented with EM4 on levels of vitamin C, total phenol content and antioxidants of mustard greens. The results showed that in general, the fermented neem leaf treatment provided the highest effectiveness for all parameters compared to other plant extracts, namely vitamin C levels (72,846 mg/100 g), total phenol content (0.074 mg/100 g) and antioxidant (75.230%).

Abstract. Yusuf RA, Tank UM, Karnila R, Pato U. 2021. Biological and management design for sustainable wetland rice farming in Siak District, Riau, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 2803-2814. This study aimed to develop a management design for sustainable wetland rice farming to promote food security in Siak District, Riau Province. This study was conducted through survey research wherein primary and secondary data were used. In the sustainability analysis, the Rapfish method was used which is based on eight attributes that are a combination of key factors in the sustainability analysis and stakeholder needs analysis. Results showed that the management design that can be implemented to improve the sustainability of rice farming involves preventing the continuous paddy field conversion and thus promote their preservation, improving the farmers’ knowledge and skills to create superior human resources, and strengthening agribusiness-based farmer institutions to improve farmers’ welfare. The multidimensional sustainability value obtained in three scenarios was within the 50–75% range, indicating a fairly sustainable status. For this reason, it is recommended to apply scenario 1 wherein sustainability can be increased at low costs and within a relatively short time

Social behavior of the community and the institutions that support farming facilities and infrastructure affect the success of farming. The purpose of this study was to describe the behavior and institutional support for the success of rice farming in the tidal swamps of Riau Province. The study was conducted at the rice production center in Siak Regency using a survey method with a structured questionnaire. A total of 203 farmers were purposively selected as random samples in four districts, namely Bunga Raya, Sungai Apit, Sabak Auh and Sungai Mandau. The observation parameters were education, training, age, motivation farming, land tenure and experience in agriculture. The collected data tabulated and analyzed descriptively. The results showed that agriculture in Bunga Raya was more sustainable compared to other sub-districts with index value of social and cultural dimensions (> 50%) and the value of the legal and institutional dimension sustainability index to be 53.9%. The factors that influence the sustainability of the swamp rice farming in Siak Regency were good farmer behavior (age, education, motivation, experienced and landowner status), the existence of supporting institutions peculiarly farming group and BPP that synergize well and government regulations in favor of agricultural development and their sustainability.

The study of economic factors affecting sustainability of rice farming was conducted from January to September 2018 in Siak Regency. This study aimed to identify economic factors that affect the sustainability of rice farming in Siak Regency. The number of respondents in this study was 203 farmers, determined by a margin of error of 7% of the total population of agricultural households. The economic parameters observed in this study were the availability of farmersʼ capital, availability of production facilities, price of unhulled rice, agrotourism potential, economic efficiency, and farmersʼ income level. The results showed that the availability of farmers' capital (59.11%) was categorized as still lacking capital. Seed production facilities, fertilizers, and agricultural equipment are available following what is needed by farmers, except for the price of pesticides. The price of unhulled rice in Siak Regency is around Rp.4,500-Rp.4,700/kg, already above the Government Purchase Price of Rp.3,700-Rp.4,070/kg. Agrotourism objects that are becoming a trend and are currently in demand are a race using a tractor, a race to catch mice in the paddy fields before the rice is planted, a soccer match in the muddy fields after the fields are plowed and a competition to plant and harvest rice, both manually and using machines. Rice farming activities in Siak Regency are economically feasible to continue and profitable with 2.49-2.72Revenue Cost Ratio and 1.49-1.72 Benefit Cost Ratio.