Increasing the Income of Rice Paddy Farmers with an Integrated Crop Management System and Local Wisdom

Even though rice farming is crucial to farmer's livelihoods, using technology can be challenging, particularly in places with various traditional knowledge. This study investigated how introducing an integrated crop management system tailored to local knowledge could raise farmers’ incomes.

Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed on the data. The integrated crop management system and community knowledge in paddy rice farming were revealed qualitatively using a phenomenological approach. R-C ratio, farmers’ income difference test and quantitatively computed income.

The result demonstrated that, compared to the non-integrated system, which generates IDR 26,636,128/ha, the integrated crop management system with local knowledge can use resources more efficiently and provide a higher income of IDR 36,459,191/ha. The R/C ratio of 5.7, which is higher than 3.8 for the non-integrated system, shows the superiority of the integrated system. This result shows that the costs incurred for the integrated system yielded more significant revenues, indicating its economic viability.