Farmers' response towards the introduction of NASA 29, a double-ear maize variety developed by IAARD

Abstract

Development and dissemination of NASA 29 has been carried out on a massive scale by the Ministry of Agriculture, especially the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD). Year 2014-2018 Agricultural Research and Development Performance listed NASA 29 as the most widely cultivated IAARD maize varieties in that period. This isparticularly supported by the use of NASA 29 as a superior variety in national-scale agricultural programs. In the long run, it is necessary to ensure the continuing use of NASA 29 independently by farmers. This study aims to determine the response of farmers to the performance of NASA 29 which was introduced by IAARD. The study was conducted using survey approach (ex-ante and ex-post) to cooperative farmers in the NASA 29 development area during 2017-2018 in 4 districts of 3 provinces, namely Lamongan (East Java), East Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara), Sumbawa (West Nusa Tenggara), and Berau (East Kalimantan). The parameters explored in the survey included characteristics and responses of farmers to NASA 29 attributes. The data collected were analysed descriptively and NASA 29's performance was measured using Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA) and Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) measurements. The results showed that the average level of NASA 29 attribute performance was 3.86 on a 5.00 scale. This shows that the response of farmers to the performance of NASA 29 attributes is in the quite satisfied category. While the average value of the importance level of NASA 29 attributes to farmers is 3.84 from a scale of 5.00. This shows that according to farmers, these attributes are quite important to them. Overall, the response of farmers to NASA 29 attribute levels exceeded farmers' expectations. However, to maximize the satisfaction of farmers, users need to improve the performance of each of these attributes. Farmer satisfaction with NASA 29's performance is indicated by a CSI value of 77.28%. This value indicates that overall farmers were quite satisfied with the performance of the NASA 29 attributes. Improved performance of each attribute can be done at a minimum of 2.72% points so that the assessment of farmer users can be improved to be satisfied with the NASA 29 attributes. Further identified NASA 29 performance improvements need to be prioritized on attributes related to production costs that are still not considered efficient and affordable.