Empowering Corn Farmers Through Good Agricultural Practices in Balongga Village, Central Sulawesi

Abstract

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a guideline for good cultivation practices to increase productivity, yield quality, and the sustainability of farming businesses. However, in practice, GAP recommendations for corn cultivation have not been fully adopted by farmers, resulting in suboptimal productivity. This study aims to analyze the implementation of an empowerment program to improve farmer knowledge, GAP implementation, and corn productivity. The study was conducted in Balongga Village, Dolo Selatan District, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi Province using a mixed-method approach. Data collection was carried out through observation, interviews, questionnaires, pre-tests and post-tests to measure farmers knowledge levels, and checklists to assess GAP implementation, complemented by activity documentation. The results showed improvements in three main aspects after the implementation of the empowerment program. The level of farmer knowledge increased from 68.59% to 96.41%, the level of GAP implementation increased from 59.62% to 93.37%, and corn productivity increased from 2.1 tons ha^-1 to 5.1 tons ha^-1. The implementation of empowerment activities through field school activities, demonstration plot gardens, and routine monitoring has shown effectiveness in increasing the understanding and application of GAP by farmers, which in turn has a positive impact on increasing corn productivity.