Sorghum Contribution to Increased Income and Welfare of Dryland Farmer Households in Wonogiri, Indonesia

Abstract

Sorghum is uniquely adapted to dryland and used by the Indonesian government to optimize the utilization of dryland and increase farmers’ incomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the contribution of sorghum to increasing income and the level of welfare of dryland farmer households in Wonogiri, Central Java, Indonesia. The study was conducted from October to December 2022 using a survey method through direct interviews with purposively selected sorghum-growing farmers. A set of questions included household income and expenditure. The average total income and expenditure indicators, poverty line figures, RMW, and ERFHI were used to measure the welfare level of farmer households. The study found that the income derived from sorghum contributes 22.87% to total household income and tends to increase household income by 29.65%. According to the average total income earned, farming households were in a prosperous condition. This can be seen from the total income, which is higher than the total expenditure, the average per capita income higher than the poverty line, the average total income higher than RMW, and the value of ERFHI at 1.25. Income derived from sorghum has increased by 21.43–56.00% from less prosperous households to prosperous ones. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the existing literature on sorghum development and farmers’ income and to be a reference for policy makers in formulating poverty alleviation programs and improving the welfare of farmer households, as well as expanding sorghum development by optimizing the utilization of agroecological, economic and social resources.

Optimasi Penggunaan Input Produksi pada Usahatani Kentang di Dataran Tinggi Dieng, Jawa Tengah

“…Pupuk NPK yang digunakan petani antara 350-1000 kg/ha dengan rata-rata 725 kg/ha, dan penggunaan pupuk kandang ayam antara 500-200 kg/ha dengan rata-rata 750 kg/ha. Penggunaan pupuk tersebut masih di bawah dosis yang diperlukan tanaman berdasarkan hasil analisis tanah, yaitu pemupukan untuk tanaman kentang di daerah penelitian adalah pupuk NPK sebanyak 750 kg/ha dan pupuk kandang ayam sebanyak 20 ton/ha (Sahara et al 2022). Ketidaksesuaian jumlah pupuk menyebabkan produksi yang tidak optimal, sebagaimana pendapat Setiawan dan Inayati (2020) bahwa pupuk merupakan bahan yang ditambahkan pada media tanam untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hara yang dibutuhkan tanaman sehingga dapat memengaruhi produksi.…”