Advantages of early-maturity soybean varieties as a farmer adaptation effort to climate change in Grobogan Regency

Abstract

The climate change impact is cropping patterns change, including unpredictable droughts and floods. These conditions require soybean farmers to adapt, one of them is adopting early maturing soybean varieties. This research aims to identify the advantages of early-maturity soybean varieties, financial feasibility, and technical Efficiency. This study collected data from 40 soybean farmers in the Grobogan Regency. Soybean farming data used in planting season III (May-August) 2021. Biosoy varieties are early maturing, compared to the Anjasmoro varieties as existing soybeans. The financial feasibility of early-maturing soybeans is analyzed by the Marginal Benefit Cost Ratio (MBCR), while technical Efficiency is by stochastic frontier. The research showed that a) advantages of Biosoy early-maturing soybeans include higher production, larger seeds, and reduced risk of crop failure due to drought; b) Biosoy varieties are feasible to develop with an MBCR level of 3.19, and c) an average technical efficiency is 0.92. Biosoy varieties demonstrated better advantages than Anjasmoro varieties. The government, as a policy maker, is expected to be able to encourage farmers to adopt Biosoy varieties and optimize production inputs to make them more efficient so that farmers can adapt to climate change adaption.