The impact of agricultural extension on productivity of smallholder sugarcane farmers in East Java

Abstract

Agricultural extension is one of the most important factors to increase smallholder sugarcane farmer capacity and encourage the acceleration of technology adoption which positively correlates with farm productivity. This study aims to evaluate the impact of agricultural extension on the productivity of smallholder sugarcane farmers in East Java. While few previous studies showing the relationships, very limited involving a relatively large number of samples. This study used data from Indonesian Plantation Farm Household Survey 2014 by the Indonesian Statistical Agency (BPS). The number of samples was 2,893 farmers consisting of 2,463 farmers who did not participate (control group) and 430 farmers who participated in agricultural extension (treatment group). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to evaluate the impact of agricultural extension on the productivity of sugarcane farming. Typically, the treatment group is better than the control group. The treatment group has an average education of 7.89 years, land area of 2.74 hectares and sugarcane productivity of 72 tons/ha. Meanwhile, the control group has an average education of 5.96 years, land area of 0.88 hectares and sugarcane productivity of 61 tons/ha. Our results show that farmers who participated in agricultural extension have a 9.05 tons higher productivity compared to those who did not participate. Therefore, farmers’ participation in agricultural extension should be encouraged by improving the frequency as well as the quality of agricultural extension. While the number of extension workers for plantation crops is limited, recruitment of more extension workers can be an optional policy for the government.

The Impact of Agricultural Extension Services on Farm Output: A Worldwide Viewpoint

“…A strong educational system that includes both general education classes and more specific occupational training might be considered the fundamental necessity for mass agricultural output [22,23] . Studies on the effectiveness of training for farmers have shown that only training programs that have been carefully revised and created to address specific farm needs can increase productivity in farms [24][25][26] . Based on this, it was hypothesized that:…”

“…Because information can be sent across a large region at a quick and affordable rate through mass media, extension service organizations employ it. The media serves as a good source of early information for farmers and a reliable method for communicating production information on recent developments and catastrophes which greatly influences the levels of farm yields [24] . Based on this, it was hypothesized that:…”

“…Extension, according to Kosim [24] , serves as a resource for knowledge on new technology for agricul-tural communities, which, when accepted, may raise output, incomes, and living standards. Farm families are informed about innovations by extension service providers, who also catalyze to hasten adoption rates, manage change, and work to stop certain system actors from stopping the diffusion process.…”

“…The supply of extension services can become increasingly complicated and information-intensive as a result of the policies of economic liberalization, decentralization, and transformation of agriculture with a concentration on smallholder commercialization and export orientation [17,24] . To sustainably increase productivity, encourage diversification into high-value products, shift toward value addition, and improve smallholder competitiveness in both domestic and international markets, agricultural extension should provide services that can meet specific needs in a variety of agroecological and socioeconomic contexts [8,25] .…”

Socio – economic Factors Influencing Access to Agricultural Extension Services among Smallholder Farmers in Western Uganda

“…This is supported by the studies such as; Danso-Abbeam et al [26] who reported an increased farm production of 300 kg/ha among farmers who participated in the extension programs than those who did not. Similarly, Kosim et al [27] reported that sugarcane farmers who participated in agricultural extension programs realized 9.5 tons higher than those who did not participate. Emmanuel et al [28] also presented the benefits of extension services by reporting an increase in adoption of chemical fertilizers among small scale farmers in Ghana.…”