Strengthening Rural Extension Services to Facilitate Community Towards Sustainable Development Goals in Three Districts in Indonesia

Rural areas in Indonesia vary in terms of socio-economics and cultural background, the landscape, physical climate, the resources, and the accessibility to extension services. Rural extension services play an important role in facilitating community development from on-farm to off farm activities. Rural extension systems have to address the increased demand for the services and to nd innovative approaches and strategies to facilitate community in the era of globalization. The paper aims to analyse the current status of rural extension systems in Indonesia, to analyse the role of stakeholders involved in extension systems, and to formulate plan and actions to strengthen rural extension systems. Assessment of rural extension systems was conducted by using a logical framework analysis models involving representatives from rural community groups and resource persons. Stakeholder dialogues and group discussions were conducted to gather information and to discuss the issues on rural extension. Data were analysed using stakeholders analysis to formulate strategy to strengthen rural extension systems. The results indicate that rural areas have shown changes in terms of socio-ecological aspects, land-uses, sources of income, and availability of resources. The changes are due to population increases that result in the need for more food, housing, education, jobs, and other public facilities. Community groups run small enterprise in rural areas for income generating activities. Engaging community and related stakeholders in the systems has positive effects for successful rural extension services. Stakeholder analysis showed that better collaborative extension services from service providers is needed to facilitate community. In terms of sustainable development goals, rural extension systems need the issues of food, health, water, gender, poverty and environment to be integrated into the services. Existing supports from local government, business sectors, civil society organizations, and universities are essentials to facilitate transformative changes in communities.

. Volunteer farmers, private sectors, and community led extension services from other organizations including research centers and universities need to co-operate in rural extension systems. The challenges to alleviate poverty require a holistic and transdisciplinary approaches.
Rural areas in Indonesia vary according to physical environment, socio-culture, and economics. Rural extension services should consider that people from different rural areas have specific belief system, values, issues, needs, experiences, and interests. Lack of coordination between stakeholders, unappropriate services with community needs, and lack interests to invest in agricultural and rural extension are among the issues found in dealing with holistic and multistakeholders approaches. On the other hands, increase urbanization increased due to lack of land provision, lack of employment, failure in harvesting the products related to the effect of climate changes, and rapid changes in extension organization affect the operationalization of rural extension systems.
To respond to the call of sustainability, some issues in rural areas need to recover. This paper aims to analyse the current status of rural extension systems and the role of stakeholders in rural extension systems. Results of analysis is used to to formulate plans and actions to strengthen rural extension systems in the context of sustainability.

Rural Extension Systems and Sustainable Perspectives
Extension-education can be seen as an approach to enable transformative changes to occur through facilitating people to be able to help themselves (Slamet, 2003), communication of innovation (Leewis, 2004) (Amanah 2007), and as advisory services related to innovation systems (Swanson;Rajalahti, 2010). Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) defines extension as follows: "about working with people in a community to facilitate change in an environment that has social, economic and technical complexity. This is achieved by helping people gain the knowledge and confidence so they want to change and providing support to ensure it is implemented effectively. through working with the peple to o facilitate change in an environment that has social, economic and technical complexity" (http://www. apen.org.au/what-is-extension).
Rural extension systems is an integrative approach to facilitate the changes for people in the way they manage the resources, develop co-operation with others for social relations, environmental concerns as well as to generate income from activities. For nonagricultural aspects, extension services in rural areas can be integrated with health services, parenting education, home economics consultation, youth organization development, community nutrition, family planning and community library. In viewing rural extension systems as interconnectivity of sub systems to meet community demand for facilitation and that the system "does not simply mean to logical cause and effect, nor problems and solution, systemic approach reflects the connectivity and interrelatedness of whole within whose, systemic analysis is always recursive" (Bawden, 2005).
In the last three decades, a number of model for extension systems have been operated around the world. At least there are five models for extension systems (Amanah, 2008;Amanah, 2013): (i) linear model that characterized by top-down approach and extension services are too focus on production. The farmers are passive and treat as the recipients; (ii) Communication, education, and information (CEI) approach. At this time, the use communication media (mass media) was very intensive to influence mass in decision making process to adopt innovation, (iii) Mass Approach during green revolution era (1960-s to 1980-s). The Training & Visits System was introduced and developed in these two decades. The Training and Visits (T &V) have been modified in terms of providing more facilitation to the needs of farmers following its assessment that T & V was too focused on administrative matters that prevented extension workers from visiting farmers more based on the needs for resolving issue on farm and off farm. (iv) Triangle relation between research, extension, and community. This model developed in 1980-s with the aim to link and to interrelate among those involved in communication of innovation for transformative changes. The challenges for this model include for example different "language" between research, extension, and community. (v) participatory extension approach has been developed since in 1970-s, however, due to the need to food security through mass approach, in practically, top-down extension model operated in that period with some cases in Indonesia and other developing countries (Pretty, 1995).
In the late 1987, participatory model in extension was developed by engaging farmers as change agents, for example: Farmer Field School (FFS) Program in Indonesia has been successfully implemented as medium for farmers to learn and solve problem together, when the problem persist the farmers consult to appropriate resources or experts. The approach can be viewed as "farmer back to farmer model" that was introduced by Rhoades and Booth (1982) as an alternative to solve issues on farm level.
Rural extension services need to consider the facts that rural areas face the issues of decline quality of soil resources, increase land conversion from forestry and land use change from agriculture to other purposes, food shortage, and responsible agricultural and fisheries practices (as resumed in Figure 1). Qualitative assessment on National Community Empowerment Program in Rural Environment (Kolopaking et al., 2012) shows that status of agroecosystem and natural resources has co-relations with the community initiatives and facilitation from rural environmental extension services. In the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that has been launched on September 25th by the United Nation (the UN).
The SDGs aim to end all forms of poverty and call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. Ending poverty must be done together with strategies that economic growth should be followed by the fulfilment of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while the issues of climate change and environmental protection (adapted from http:// www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopment-goals).
The new sustainable development agenda has a set of 17 goals that can be divided into three groups those are: (i) end poverty that consists of goal 1 to 6, (ii) protect the planet refers to goal 7 to 12, and (iii) ensure prosperity for all refer to goal 13 to 17 For the case of rural community Indonesia, the SGDs number 1 to 13 seems relevant in this current situations. In the context of rural extension systems, the paper will discuss rural extension systems that have significant impacts to poverty alleviation, support rural food system, and education for all and gender equality in extension. Figure 1 shows the illustration of rural extension systems in Indonesia in a logical framework. The left two boxes representing rural areas condition and the issues need to be addressed by extension services. The two boxes in the middle is the providers of the services. To increase effectiveness of the services, extension systems require support from and stakeholders involved in the system need to establish cooperation, connection, and collaboration toward SDGs.
This can be done when multi stakeholder dialogues existed, rural people have interest and committed to "grow" further, and appropriate technology or innovation is able to access and to use by the people. At this point, the role of extension workers or volunteer farmers as facilitators and partners for the farmers and their family is needed. In the perspective of extension as learning for sustainability, three basic components should be available (Gabathuler et al., 2011) multi stakeholder dialogues, organizational development, and knowledge management.

Methods
A logic model was used to analyse rural extension systems that operated in the last 10 years. The model is a picture of program representing theory of action about input (what is invested), process (what is done), and results (what are the outputs or products). Despite its rational perspective, a logic model will assist an assesor about the performa of the program or a system. From the analysis, continous improvement can be done to increase quality (Adapted from Powell, 2001).
Three data gathering techniques were administered to collect data: interviews, group discussions, and stakeholder dialogues. Primary data about agriculture and rural extension services were gathered from interviews with farmers in Bogor District (n=30) and Bandung District (n=30); farmersfishery communities in Tangerang District (n=30). The respondents were representatives of farmer's groups in three districts. The respondents were asked their perceptions to these seven aspects: (i) current status of agricultural resources in rural areas, (ii) type of rural extension services; (iii) involvement of the community and other stakeholders in extension program planning; (iv) the benefits of rural extension for farmers and fishery community; (v) the priorities for rural extension service in the context of sustainable rural livelihood; (vi) extension services monitoring and evaluation; and (vii) the utilisation of evaluation results.
Group discussions were conducted separately between extension workers (n=10) and the farmers/ women farmers (n=10) to enable objective comments expressed by participants of the group discussion. Stakeholders dialogues were held by inviting researchers of extension-education and academicians (n=10); representatives of government agencies managing extension in agriculture (n=5) and nonagricultural context (n=5), civil society organizations (n=4), and private sectors (n=1).
Guidance questions in group discussions consists of five aspects: (i) assessment to rural extension services and sustainable issues; (ii) priorities for rural extension services; (iii) stakeholders for rural extension services and their roles in providing the ervices; (iv) the challenges of rural extension services that affect effectiveness of the systems; and (v) aspects of rural extension services that urge to be strengthened.
Logic models to analyse rural extension systems has been depicted to Figure 1 in the previous section of this paper. The generic logic model analysis for program performa is: INPUTS -PROCESS -OUTPUTS -OUTCOMES (Powell 2001). The planning process flows from expected outcomes, targetted outputs, and inputs need to invest. On the other hand, evaluation process starts from inputs that have been invested, the outputs achieved, and the benefits. For the purpose of assessing extension systems, data and information gathered were categories according its position as components of logic models.
Stakeholder mapping was used to identify key stakeholders and their roles in the process of development rural extension systems. The role of stakeholders were categorised according to functions and degree of involvement in the extension services. Plan actions to strengthen rural extension system was formulated based on results of logic model analysis and stakeholder analysis.

Rural Extension Systems in Indonesia
Agricultural resources, socio-economic activities, type of ecosystem and the needs for rural people to extension services vary. Farmers and women farmers respondents in Bogor District have developed small entreprise in food processing from taro, sweet potato, cassava, nutmeg, mushroom, potato, corn, and baby fish. Rural people in Bandung District mostly depend their livelihood in agricultural resources. Majority of farmers in Pangalengan and Lembang Subdistricts raise cattle to produce dairy products, do ecosystem service through agroforestry for livelihoods, and women farmers in these subdistricts process milk for cake, crackers, and sweets to be sold as souvenirs for visitors. Respondents in Tangerang District managed lowland vegetable crops and rural community in coastal areas of Tangerang Districts depend their livelihood in agriculture and catching fishery. The similarities of rural people in three districts are: majority of them manage small piece of land to be manages (less than 0.5 hectares), not all farmers become members of the groups (farmers group or fishermen/women group), require agricultural innocation for preventing failure in harvesting yields, and fair prices for the products.
As shown in Table 1, major providers of extension services is the government, whilst the farmer to farmer extension services facilitated by farmer leaders is also availabe, but limited service due Health status of rural people improved to financial reason. Extension services provided by private sectors mostly related to marketing products from company, i.e. fertilizers, seeds, machinery, and chemicals. A number of rural empowerment programs that have been implemented in rural areas of the three districts including national program for community empowerment, credits for women, family planning program, water and sanitation program, internet facilitation, 9 years learning compulsory, ecovillage, family planning program and community nutrition program. Figure 2 shows farmers assessment (n=90) to rural extension systems in Indonesia. According to farmer repondents, rural extension services remain the same in the last ten years in terms of providers, program, and scope of the services.
Considering the issues of poverty in the three locations, 30 percents of respondents have household income below USD 2 per day. This is also consistent to the major issue in rural areas (Table 2) as presented by the farmers in three districts when they asked to rank five major issues in ordered, they put income as the first issue to overcome. To cope with low income issue, rural people find jobs in the village or to the city, such as laundry services, taxibike, taxidriver, street vendor, and other informal jobs (Source: indepth interviews with the respondents June 2017). A household earns additional income from USD 5 139 Jurnal Penyuluhan, Maret 2018 Vol. 14 No. 1 to USD 12 from other job. Usually, a household in rural areas has to do multiple jobs to have a better income. Work in the city is one choice. More jobs should be provided in rural areas to prevent massive urbanization. Poverty alleviation programs have been implemented since 1980s with a number of activities, such as: credits for women, rice distribution to poor people, and 9 years compulsary schooling. Even though the number of poor people has decreased in the last five years, however, the type of poverty has shifted from cultural poverty into more structural poverty, meaning, poverty exist due to structure of socio-economics that people without asset, lack access to credits and other public services.

Role of Stakeholders Involved in Extension Systems
Group discussions result shows that each stakeholder have specific roles in rural extension systems. Rural extension systems can be viewed as interrelations between element of each subsystem of extension to facilitate transformative changes to occur, in on farm and off farm. Table 4 resumes the results from stakeholders dialogues on extension systems.
Multistakeholders dialogues participants agree that facilitation from extension services has positive correlations to the increase quality of products or services in terms of SDGs. This agreement seems an answer to Davis (2016) questioning about extension contribution to SDGs.

Plan and Actions to Strengthen Rural Extension System
Twenty two things need to be done from information on Table 4, to strenghten rural extension systems in Indonesia. The 22 things are: 12 aspects to manage inputs, five things to improve the process, three aspects to better handling outputs, and two aspects to expand outcomes from extension services facilitiated by the systems. As extension-education concerns on learning for transformative changes and in the light of SGDs, it is important to review the intended changes according to Leagans (1962): "Changes in what people know -their knowledge of themselves of their society and of their physical environment, changes in what people can do -their skill, mental and physical, changes in what people think and feel their attitude toward themselves, toward their society and toward their physical environment, and changes in what people actually do their actions related to factors determining their own welfare" (Leagans 1962) The government needs to ensure whether rural extension systems have addressed the scope of extension services needed by the community. Rural extension services are expected to reformulate approach and methods to assist or to facilitate farmers and community to solve the issues in rural areas including low household income, lack of jobs, limited access to inputs, lack of infrastructure availability, and other issues related to education and training, food and nutrition issues. The plan can be divided into three phases: short, medium, and long terms. In the short 140 Jurnal Penyuluhan, Maret 2018 Vol. 14 No. 1  In the medium term (2-5 years), capital and human assets are two compolsory aspects to invest to strengthen rural extension system. Government and private sectors are two main stakeholders to support this actions. Capital in terms of financial support should be allocated not only to reach rural people living in remote areas that find limited access to information from digital aparatus, but also to facilitate rural people across the country. The important of investing in capital (financial and human assets) has also suggested by Kerua and Glyde (2016) in their research article about supporting cocoa farmers in livelihood activities in Papua Nugini. Maintenance rural infrastructure should be programmed not only for agriculture, but also for non agriculture purposes. Farmers needs for local financial institution can be facilitated in village in the forms of cooperative or other according the needs. As well as public services such as education and health services, market for agricultural inputs, food, and other goods for daily life should be easily found in the village. Regular face to face meetings for multistakeholders of rural extension system need to be held to coordinate and consolidation service.
In the long terms (> 5 to 30 years), the government, organization and private company engaged in extension systems has to develop strategic planning and actions for future extension service with consideration to long term issues based on current situation. For example: the availability of food to feed 9 million people in 2050, the face of agriculture in the next 25 years, advancement of information and computer technology to assist collective learning in community, effect of climate change to agriculture, fisheries, forestry and livestock, and interest of people in rural issues. Situation in the future is ultimately depended on managing current rural issues.

Conclusion
Rural extension systems in Indonesia face a phase of transition due to changing policy, structure, organization, and the rural situation changes. Farmers and related stakeholders of rural development confirm that rural extension services are urgently needed to facilitate on-farm and off farm agricultural issues. The services should be integrated in a system to facilitate intended better changes. In terms of SDGs several issues should be resolved including poverty, more employment, availability of inputs and infrastructure, education and training, and food & nutrition. Strengthened rural extension systems can be done through transforming internal and external system for better services, concrete actions to manage inputs, facilitate process, handling products and services from rural people, and better manage the benefits for rural community.