PENILAIAN PELAKSANAAN PENYULUHAN PEMANFAATAN JERAMI PADI SEBAGAI MULSA ORGANIK DI KECAMATAN BLANG PEGAYON KABUPATEN GAYO LUES

Abstrak

Rice straw utilization as organic mulch is an alternative use of local resources that can support red chili cultivation. However, in Blang Pegayon District, Gayo Lues Regency, the availability of rice straw has not been accompanied by its optimal utilization as organic mulch. This condition indicates a gap between the availability of local resources and the adoption of innovation by farmers. This study aimed to analyze farmers’ assessment of the implementation of extension activities on the utilization of rice straw as organic mulch for red chili cultivation and to describe farmers’ application of the innovation during one growing season. The study used a descriptive quantitative approach involving 25 target farmers. The implementation of extension activities was assessed using a Likert scale covering seven aspects: material, method, media, volume, location, time, and cost. The results showed that the farmers’ assessment of the implementation of extension activities reached a score of 84.37% and was categorized as very effective. Location obtained the highest score of 87.36%, followed by method at 87.20% and media at 85.20%, while material obtained the lowest score of 80.80% and remained in the effective category. Based on observations during one growing season after the extension activities, 17 farmers (68%) applied rice straw as organic mulch, exceeding the initial target of 15 farmers (60%). The novelty of this study lies in the use of seven aspects of extension implementation to assess the quality of the extension process and distinguish the assessment results from the description of farmers’ application of the innovation, thereby providing information on the strengths of the extension activities and aspects that still need improvement without inferring a causal relationship between the extension activities and the application of organic mulch.

Kata kunci

• Extension Implementation
• Innovation Application
• Organic Mulch
• Red chili
• Rice Straw