Empowerment of farmer groups in rice seed business in Purbalingga Regency, Central Java

Abstract

These activities aims to increase the capacity of farmer groups and expand job opportunities. An empowerment assessment was carried out on the Sri Rejeki farmer group located in Gembong Village, Bojongsari District, Purbalingga Regency, in August 2021-February 2022. The approach method used is participatory mentoring, by facilitating the needs of farmer groups in the rice seed business, which includes: obtaining seed business recommendations, working capital and technological innovation. The data collected includes farmer group resources, assistance in the production process, and inputs and outputs of rice seed production. Data was collected through interviews with the head of the farmer group, the head of PB Sri Rejeki, field assistants and direct observation in the field. The data obtained were analysed descriptively. The results of the study show that increasing the group's capacity in seed farming, among others, has a drying floor, warehouse and thresher. Working capital facilitation in labour, fertilizers, medicines, harvested plastic sacks, and 5 kg plastic seed packaging can provide motivation and initial capital for a rice seed business. The seed technology innovation applied resulted in 5,500 kg of ES class seeds. Empowerment of farmer groups needs to be done through assistance and provision of initial capital.