Implementasi Cyber Extension dalam Komunikasi Inovasi Pertanian

Abstract

Cyber extension is one of the agricultural innovation network development mechanism effectively for bringing into contact between research, development, and assessment institution with innovation disseminator (extension workers), educators, farmers, and other stakeholders group that have each need with various information kind and form, so can be collaborated and equipped each other. Many problems that stakeholders were known in cyber extension implementation can be divided into three major categories, are: 1) Management (commitment and policy not yet consistence and limited managerial capability in ICT area; 2) Infrastructure (low and instability in electric and limited internet connection network or communication infrastructure, widely regional broadness, and limited local government budgeting); 3) Human resource development (limited human resource development capability in communication and information technology application); and 4) Culture (low of culture in sharing information and knowledge and low awareness for usually to documenting the information/activities/data that can be accessed and owned). In agricultural innovation communication network system through cyber extension based on information technology application, the District Extension Agency is a bridge between information source within center organization with local stakeholders and at the same time act as a synergizing system. Besides to facilitate the local users and stakeholders in accessing agricultural information manually and electronically, District Extension Agency can be functioning as information accumulator related to indigenous knowledge from local information resource through Extension agency at Sub district level that collecting information and facilitating information material for field extension workers in each rural. Cyber extension is expected to support the extension revitalization especially in conducting the collaboration and networking agricultural extension with related institutions.