The model of farmer empowerment in managing rice farming in Karawang and Cianjur District, West Java Province

Abstract

In Indonesia, rice is one of basic needs. The sustainability of rice production will determine food security guarantee, and the efforts to integrated food security and farmer empowerment have become an important issue today. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to analyze the level of participation of farmers in their group and the empowerment of farmers in the management of rice farming and the factors associated with it, and analyze the impact of farmer empowerment to sustainability efforts. Fieldwork was conducted from May to June 2012 in two districts in West Java, namely Karawang and Cianjur Districts by taking the 239 members of the farmer who had attended the farmer field school. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically based the descriptive technique and Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interview and observation to support the quantitative data. The results showed that: (1) the level of the farmer participation in the farmer group and the farmer empowerment were classified as low. The variables that significantly affect the levels of the farmer participation in the farmer group are: intensity of empowerment and personality traits. The variables that significantly affect the levels of the farmer empowerment are: the farmer participation in the farmer group, intensity of empowerment, physical and socioeconomic environment, personality traits, and the available of agricultural information; (2) The prospects for sustainability efforts were classified as low. The level of the farmer empowerment significantly affect to the sustainability of farming; and (3) The increasing level of the farmer empowerment can be obtained by better management of empowerment process, with the increasing the farmer participation in the farmer’s group, strengthen the availability of the agricultural information, and the physical and socio economic environment.The model of the farmer empowerment in managing rice farming are enhanching the farmer participation in the farmer group’s with strengthen the availability of the agricultural information, the physic and socio economic environment, and the farmer personality.