Knowledge improvement of agricultural extender through technical guidance of paddy soil test kit

Abstract

Paddy Soil Test Kit is one of the appropriate instruments to determine the nutrient status of lowland paddy and preparation of site-specific fertilization recommendations to increase rice productivity. Agriculture extension agents as technology transfer agents have a strategic role. Technical Guidance is needed to improve knowledge of agriculture extension. This study aims to analyze the level of knowledge of agricultural instructors on Technical Guidance use of Paddy Soil Test Kit and Preparation of Site-Specific Fertilization Recommendations. Data collection was carried out before and after implementation of Technical Guidance through direct interviews with a questionnaire guide. The evaluation was carried out on all participants of technical guidance, totaling 32 extension workers from representatives of 11 sub-districts throughout Bengkulu Selatan Regency by providing pretest and posttest to determine the increase in knowledge of Technical Guidance participants. The level of knowledge of participants is calculated using index % formula. The significance of increasing knowledge of technical and technical training participants was analyzed using non-parametric Wilcoxon Match Pairs Test statistical analysis. Correlation test to determine level of knowledge on age, experience, and education. Results of the analysis showed that there was a very significant increase (<0.05) in the knowledge of officers after the implementation of technical guidance from an index of 52.58% (low category) to 84.83% (high category). There is no correlation between increasing knowledge about Paddy Soil Test Kit with age (sig > 0.05) which is 0.571, experience 0.661, and education 0.130.