Indonesia is the fifth largest cocoa-producing country in the world, and an increase in cocoa farming efficiency can help farmers to increase their per capita income and reduce poverty in rural areas of this country. This research evaluated the efficiency of Indonesian cocoa farms using a non-parametric approach. The results revealed that the majority of cocoa farms are operated relatively inefficiently. The average technical and allocative efficiencies (0.82 and 0.46, respectively) of these cocoa farms demonstrated that there is potential for improvement. The potential cost reductions range from 36 to 76%, with an average of 60%, if farmers practice efficiently. The technical and allocative efficiencies and cocoa farm economies are affected by the use of quality seeds, organic fertilizers, frequency of extension and training of farm managers, access to bank credit and the market, the participation of women, and the farm manager’s gender. An increase in the output would increase farmers’ income and reduce poverty in rural areas. This research suggests that the availability of extension and training provided to farmers as well as support for women farmer groups should be increased. Credit programs are also important for cocoa farmers, so policymakers should develop programs that make production credit more accessible for farmers, especially through cooperatives and banks.
We aimed to assess and observe the accumulation of Cu, Cd, and Hg heavy metals on land and the contamination of plant tissues in Grand Forest Park, Palu, Indonesia, and its surrounding areas. The method used was a mix between survey and investigation, integrating data on research findings from before 2013 to 2016 with data from 2018. The data were analyzed using a correlation test, and descriptive statistics are presented in the form of tables and graphs. The results show that the highest concentration of Hg was found in the Poboya processing area (575.16 ppm) in 2013, though it gradually decreased to 287.64 ppm in 2018. The results of the Spearman’s rank test at the ∝ 0.05 level between average Cu land and Cu plant concentrations show that the obtained value (r) was 0.52 with a rho (ρ) of 0.13, which is not significant (ρ 0.13 > 0.05), while for Cd and Hg metals, the obtained r values were 0.88 and 0.86, respectively. These two metals showed significant correlations between concentrations of Cd and Hg on land and Cd and Hg in plant tissues (both ρ 0.001 < 0.05). Specifically, the transfer factor (TF) value at the sampling sites of the Grand Forest Park area, Ngatabaru, and PBY from the average of various Hg concentrations in plants was much higher than the TF values of Cu and Cd, specifically being Hg > Cd = Cu or 0.61 > 0.17 = 0.17.
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