Judul: The Effectiveness of Information Technology as a Media for Empowering Rice Farmers
Abstrak: Produk pertanian yang dihasilkan petani sulit bersaing karena tidak mengikuti trend selera pasar, baik pasar lokal, regional, maupun nasional dan internasional. Hal tersebut menjadi penyebab sudah saatnya petani meningkatkan kompetensi dalam pertanian. Dalam mencapai tujuan pembangunan pertanian, petani memiliki peran penting sebagai aktor dalam meningkatkan produktivitas hasil pertanian. Kehadiran teknologi informasi menyediakan peluang bagi para petani untuk mengakses berbagai informasi dan pengetahuan seputar pertanian yang bermanfaat bagi pemberdayaan petani. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis keefektifan teknologi informasi sebagai media pemberdayaan petani padi. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Desa Karangligar, Kecamatan Telukjambe Barat, Kabupaten Karawang. Penelitian bersifat eksplanatori menggunakan data kuantitatif dari kuesioner dan kualitatif dari wawancara mendalam. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa karakteristik petani berhubungan nyata dengan tingkat keberdayaan petani. Namun, aksesibilitas petani dalam menggunakan teknologi informasi tidak berhubungan nyata dengan tingkat keberdayaan petani., Agricultural products produced by farmers find it difficult to compete because they do not follow market trends, both local, regional, national and international markets. This is the reason why it is time for farmers to increase their competency in agriculture. In achieving agricultural development goals, farmers have an important role as actors in increasing the productivity of agricultural products. The presence of information technology provides opportunities for farmers to access various information and knowledge about agriculture which is useful for empowering farmers. This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of information technology as a medium for empowering rice farmers. This research was conducted in Karangligar Village, West Telukjambe District, Karawang Regency. This research is explanatory using a quantitative data from questionnaires and qualitative data from in-depth interviews. The research results show that farmer characteristics are related to the level of farmer empowerment. However, farmers' accessibility in using information technology is not significantly related to the level of farmer empowerment. Keyword: empowerment, information
Keyword: Empowerment, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Rice Farmers

Judul: Model pemberdayaan petani dalam pengelolaan usahatani padi di Kabupaten Karawang dan Cianjur, Provinsi Jawa Barat)
Abstrak: In Indonesia, rice is one of basic needs. The sustainability of rice production will determine food security guarantee, and the efforts to integrated food security and farmer empowerment have become an important issue today. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to analyze the level of participation of farmers in their group and the empowerment of farmers in the management of rice farming and the factors associated with it, and analyze the impact of farmer empowerment to sustainability efforts. Fieldwork was conducted from May to June 2012 in two districts in West Java, namely Karawang and Cianjur Districts by taking the 239 members of the farmer who had attended the farmer field school. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically based the descriptive technique and Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interview and observation to support the quantitative data. The results showed that: (1) the level of the farmer participation in the farmer group and the farmer empowerment were classified as low. The variables that significantly affect the levels of the farmer participation in the farmer group are: intensity of empowerment and personality traits. The variables that significantly affect the levels of the farmer empowerment are: the farmer participation in the farmer group, intensity of empowerment, physical and socioeconomic environment, personality traits, and the available of agricultural information; (2) The prospects for sustainability efforts were classified as low. The level of the farmer empowerment significantly affect to the sustainability of farming; and (3) The increasing level of the farmer empowerment can be obtained by better management of empowerment process, with the increasing the farmer participation in the farmer’s group, strengthen the availability of the agricultural information, and the physical and socio economic environment.The model of the farmer empowerment in managing rice farming are enhanching the farmer participation in the farmer group’s with strengthen the availability of the agricultural information, the physic and socio economic environment, and the farmer personality.
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Judul: Ornithonyssus Bursa (Berlese, 1888) Famili Macronyssidae yang Menyerang Unggas Dan Penaggulangannnya
Abstrak: Ornithonyssus bursa adalah tungau penghisap darah pada unggas di daerah tropis dan subtropis. Tungau ini relatif kecil, dengan panjang tubuh antara 700-1000 mikron dan lebarnya 250-490 mikron. Tubuhnya bulat berwarna coklat kekuningan sebelum menghisap darh dan berwarna merah setelah menghisap darah dari induk semangnya.
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