Farmers response to introducing of integrated crop management technology for lowland rice in Konawe district

One of the efforts to spur national rice production is through the application of location-specific technological innovations, which is believed to support the program to increase national rice production when applied by farmers as recommended. The study aims to determine the response of farmers to the components of Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technology for lowland rice. The study was carried out in April - August 2021, located in Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi. Respondents were 25 farmers who were involved in the NEW SUPERIOR VARIETY paddy rice demonstration plot. The response of farmers to the observed lowland rice farming technology refers to the component of rice Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technology, which consists of: perfect tillage, quality seeds, lowland rice new superior variety, planting methods, use of organic matter, fertilization, pest management and disease and timely harvest. Data were analyzed with a qualitative descriptive approach. The results of the study of farmers’ responses to the ICM technology components obtained, the response rate of farmers was 88%, included in the high category. This means that 88% of the introduced ICM technology components are accepted by farmers. Partially, the level of response of farmers to the components of ICM technology are: perfect tillage (100%), quality/labeled seeds (100%), organic matter (100%), timely harvest (100%), fertilization (90%), pest and disease management (80%), lowland rice NEW SUPERIOR VARIETY (75%), tapin and atabela Jarwo (60%).


Introduction
Rice is a food commodity that has an important role in the national economy.Rice is still the staple food for 95 percent of Indonesia's population with per capita consumption of around 133.15 kg/capita/year making Indonesia one of the largest rice consuming countries in the world [1].Consumption of rice is increasing from year to year in line with the increase in population [2].Statistical data records that Indonesia's population in 2020 is 270.20 million people, an increase of 32.56 million people in 10 years.Paddy production in 2021 was 54.42 million tons of GKG, decreased by 233.91 thousand tons or 0.43 percent from 2020 production of 54.65 million tons of GKG [3].
To encourage increased rice production, cultivation technology is needed that is able to provide added value and increase business efficiency [4,5] , namely through the application of Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technology innovations.ICM technology is an approach in assembling a 1230 (2023) 012208 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1230/1/012208 2 synergistic technology package, in accordance with local socio-economic characteristics in an effort to increase productivity, farmer income, and environmental sustainability [6][7][8][9].ICM is an innovation to solve various problems in increasing productivity [10], research results show, there is an increase in rice productivity of 6.9% -28.7% or an increase in production between 0.5-1.5 tons of GKP/ha by introducing several New Superior Varieties, such as Inpari 1, Inpari 3, Inpari 6, Inpari 7, Inpari 10 and Inpari 13 [11].
One of the important ICM technology components to increase the productivity of rice plants is the New Superior Varieties.New Superior Varieties is a breeding line that has the advantage of high yield potential, resistance to pests and diseases and tolerance to environmental stress.The use of New Superior Varieties can increase and maintain production stability [12-14], To introduce the advantages of new superior varieties technology, and accelerate its spread to farmers, development activities were carried out through the ICM technology approach in Konawe District.Through this activity it is hoped that farmers will be able to recognize, know the advantages of technology and be willing to accept this technology to then apply it in their farming business.
However, in the process, farmers do not easily accept the recommended technological innovations.Before farmers accept a technology, it begins with a response.Farmer's response to technology is a key factor influencing farmers' appreciation of technological innovation and determines whether innovation will continue or not [15,16].The response is the result of the stimulus behavior.Attitude is said to be a response that will be related to the stimulus, so that if the stimulus occurs then a response will follow [17,18].
Southeast Sulawesi is a potential area for developing lowland rice, with a land area of 108,655 ha.covering 37,885 ha of technical irrigation, 21,866 ha of village irrigation, 19,878 ha of rainfed, 17,122 ha of semi-technical, 10,599 ha of simple rice fields and the remaining 1,305 ha of tidal and lowland rice fields.The potential of this land has a strategic role in supporting food security programs, employment and sources of income for farmers.Southeast Sulawesi rice production in 2020 was 532,773.49tons, and 530.029.08 tons in 2021, there was a decrease of 0.52%.Meanwhile, rice productivity only reached 39.27 ku/ha.This productivity is still below the national level which reaches 52.26 ku/ha [19].Several factors have contributed to the low productivity, including the use of technology integrated crop management that has not been optimal at the farm level, in addition to other factors such as the impact of climate change and attacks by plant-disturbing organisms.
Based on this description, through the new superior variety demonstration plot in Konawe Regency, it is important to know, how the farmers respond to the introduced technology.The results of the study are expected, to be used as material for recommendations for policy makers in the development of lowland rice farming in Southeast Sulawesi.More expected, integrated crop management technology for lowland rice can be widely adopted by farmers in Southeast Sulawesi, which in turn can increase rice production.

Method
The study was carried out in April -August 2021 at Amonggedo Village, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi.The location is determined by considering that Konawe Regency is the largest center of lowland rice production in Southeast Sulawesi.Farmer data collection was obtained through interviews with farmers involved in site-specific development of new superior rice varieties using the Integrated Crop Management technology approach, which amounted to 25 people with a land area of 10 ha for technology introduction.The response of farmers observed refers to the technological component of Integrated Paddy Rice Management which consists of: perfect tillage, quality seeds, New Superior Varieties of lowland rice, planting methods, use of organic matter, fertilization, pest and disease management and timely harvest.
Variable measurement using a Likert scale.Indicators are translated into statement items, and for analysis purposes each statement is scored according to the respondent's choice [20].using a tiered Likert scale of 3, where a score of 1 indicates a disagree response, a score of 2 expresses doubt and a score of 3 indicates an agree response.The equation used to measure farmer response uses the following formula: K = n/N x 100% [21].Description: K = constant value, n = number of respondents who stated (people) and N = total number of respondents (people).
Furthermore, the classification of the response level of technology farmers is divided into three categories, namely: the response does not agree/does not accept; if the response rate score is between 0.00-33.00;Doubtful response if the response rate score is between 34.00 -67.00; and Response agree/accept, if the response rate score is between 68.00 -100.00.

Internal characteristics of respondent farmers
The success of farmers in farming management is not only determined by external factors such as the availability of production inputs, input prices and natural conditions, but also determined by the farmers' internal conditions.Age, formal education, farming land area, farming experience, availability of family labor are social variables that can affect success in farming management.The complete internal characteristics of the respondent farmers are in Table 1.  1 shows that, the age of the respondent farmers is dominated by the age category 15-54 years (99%).This age group is classified as productive age.Farmers who are productive have good and mature abilities in thinking and acting to develop their farming business [22].also usually more responsive in accepting new technological innovations.Furthermore, the education of 60% of respondent farmers is in the 0-6 year category or equivalent to elementary school education.then 35% are in the 9-12 year category equivalent to junior high school.A person's level of education can have a significant effect on farmers' knowledge of technological innovation [23] A low level of formal education can be complemented by learning and training so that it can add information to farmers' knowledge and insights on technological innovations.
The experience of farming farmers shows the length of time a farmer runs paddy rice farming.Farming experience can influence farmers in adopting technology [24] The experience of respondent farmers in rice farming shows that 70% of farmers have 10-20 years of experience.This means that farmers have relatively long experience in farming lowland rice and usually these farmers are more responsive to innovation and the introduction of new technologies.Family members of farmers show that 70% of farmers have 4-6 family members.This means that family members with a productive age can become a source of family labor so that they can reduce the use of outside labor.Limited productive labor in the family causes farmers to use hired labor, especially for planting and harvesting.
Land area is the farmer's most important asset in producing and a source of income in farming.60% of farmers own land of more than 2 ha.And 35% of farmers with a land area of 1-2 ha.Most of the land ownership status (70%) is privately owned.This means that farmers have relatively large land.Farmers with large plots of land are more willing to try new innovations than farmers with small plots of land.Farmers with large land areas will be more responsive to technological innovations [25] The status of owning land also allows farmers to freely make decisions in implementing technology and more freely in deciding the application of technology.

Farmers' responses to lowland rice technology 3.2.1. Exiting conditions of rice paddy farming. The development of New Superior
Varieties is a mentoring activity carried out through demonstration plots, which is a method of agricultural extension to farmers by making pilot plots, so that farmers can see and prove the technology introduced.Through this demonstration plot, farmers can see the performance of several new superior varieties as well as the introduction of ICM technology for lowland rice.Previously, interviews were conducted with the farmers involved in the demonstration plot to explore the existing conditions of the farmers' paddy rice farming.This is necessary to obtain an overview of the ICM technology components that have been or have not been applied by farmers.Details can be seen in Table 2. Plant pests that often attack: leafhoppers and stem borers, stink bugs, rats Plant diseases: blast Control of pests and diseases using pesticides, not based on the level of attack dosage not as recommended (PHT) Pest and disease management Some have used the combine harvester, but some are still using sickles Some of the integrated crop management technologies for lowland rice have already been implemented by farmers, but are still not optimal.Most farmers do not use quality and certified seeds, seeds are still obtained from fellow farmers.Farmers use quality seeds, if there is a seed assistance program from the government.The varieties commonly planted by farmers are Ciherang, Trisakti, Cigelis, Mekongga and other varieties, with an average productivity of 3.5 tonnes/ha.In MT I 2021, most use the direct seed planting method (without using a jajar legowo planting tool) but there are 1230 (2023) 012208 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1230/1/0122085 also those who use a pipe tool to plant seeds directly.The use of fertilizers has not been as recommended, because there has been no testing of soil fertility conditions to determine the required dose of fertilizer.Fertilizers are sometimes not all available when needed.From the aspect of pest and disease control, an integrated pest management (IPM) approach has not been implemented.

Farmer
Response to Lowland Rice Technology.One of the important factors that farmers consider before they can accept and adopt or apply technology is the nature or characteristics of the technology.In this case, the characteristics or characteristics of ICM technology components must conform to the needs of farmers, be dynamic, according to the ability of farmers, not damage the environment, can be utilized by farmers and increase added value for farmers, and have compatibility or adaptive capacity to the biophysical conditions of the land, the economy , and social culture of farmers.
The results of the analysis of farmers' responses to the technology introduced in the development of new superior varieties with the application of ICM technology are presented in Table 3.This is an important factor for farmers in deciding to accept and apply ICM technology in their farming business, in accordance with the statement that in order to accelerate the process of technology adoption, the technological innovations provided must be consistent with existing values, previous experience and the needs of farmers [26].

Conclusion
Farmers' responses were obtained, 88% of farmers gave a good response to lowland rice farming technology with the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) approach.meaning that farmers like and accept lowland rice technology with the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) approach, Partially, the response level of farmers to the components of Integrated Crop Management technology are: perfect tillage (100%), quality/labeled seeds (100%), use of organic matter (100%), timely harvest (100%).

Table 1 .
Characteristics of farmers paddy field at the activity location of Konawe, 2021.

Table 2 .
Existing technology at the new superior variety development Konawe, 2021.

Table 3 .
Farmers' responses to lowland rice technology at location-specific new superior variety development demonstration plots, Konawe 2021.Table3shows that, the farmer's response score of 88% is included in the high category.This means that most of the farmers gave a good/positive response to the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technology component introduced in the Lowland Rice new superior variety Development Demonstration Plot.Farmers agree if the ICM technology component that is introduced has conformity/harmony with the existing technology.According to the farmers, ICM technology does not conflict with previous farming habits and has socio-cultural suitability and farmers' needs, and the most important thing is that the ICM technology component has a better relative advantage than the existing technology.