The Application Integrated Farming System and the Role of Farmer Group

Abstract

The application of the integrated farming system in sustainable agriculture has proven to be beneficial for farmers. However, the limitation of landowner and dairy cattle results in farming practices have been conducted separately. The aim of the research was to analyze the roles of farmer groups in encouraging farmers in implementing the integrated farming system. Data was collected using interviews with guided questionnaires to 36 farmers from the Dairy Farmer Group of 'Mardi Santoso' in Kopeng Village, Getasan Sub-District, Semarang Regency. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify the relationship between the variable of the role of the farmer group and the implementation of an integrated farming system using 4 indicators (food, feed, fertilizer, and fuel). The result showed that farmers were potentially to adopt 4 indicators, yet only 8.33% applied 3 indicators (food, feed, and fertilizer) because the location of their farming field was far from the dairy cow pen and incomplete structure and infrastructure. The four indicators program has created social and economic improvement among farmers, farmer groups, and communities. Meanwhile, the role of farmer groups significantly improved the application of an integrated farming system within the integration of vegetable farming and dairy cattle.