| Abstract: |
| Agroforestry has been implemented by farmers in Indonesia for a very long time. Various studies of agroforestry have been conducted either by local or foreign research institutions. One of these research projects, Development of Timber and Non-timber Forest Products’ Production and Market Strategies for Improvement of Smallholders’ Livelihoods in Indonesia, which was implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) with funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (FST 2012-039), examined production and market strategies for timber and non-timber forest products, 2012 to 2017. The project produced research results that were then disseminated to farmers through training sessions, with the expectation that this would help improve the livelihoods of agroforestry farmers in various parts of Indonesia. Farmers will adopt the information or knowledge provided through training if they are interested in the topic. They tend to circulate such information to other farmers. This study was conducted to explore farmers’ preferences for training or extension topics and information dissemination in Sumbawa District, West Nusa Tenggara Province; Gunung Kidul District, Special Region of Yogyakarta Province; and South Timor Tengah District, East Nusa Tenggara Province. Semi-structured interviews were carried out from March to June 2016 to collect information on farmers' preferences for training topics, acceptance of new agroforestry technologies, and expected training or extension services on agroforestry subjects. Evaluation of training and extension activities by participants was also conducted to acquire feedback for improvement of future agroforestry training or extension. Interviews were conducted with 110 respondents (farmers), 56 of whom were participants of training and extension activities carried out by the project team and the remaining 54 were non-participants of such training and extension activities; 29% of total respondents were female. Respondents were randomly chosen from among participants of agroforestry and forestry training or extension activities conducted in the previous year in each district and farmers who were not participants. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses were conducted. The results showed that farmers from the three districts preferred agroforestry extension focusing on silviculture, agroforestry farm management, and agroforestry product marketing. Farmers’ preferences for extension topics varied depending on location and gender. In terms of information dissemination, extensionists played an important role as sources of information for farmers. Female farmers with less access to extensionists depended on family, farmers’ associations and ‘champion’ or leading farmers as their sources of agroforestry information. In areas with limited road access and other infrastructure, such as Nusa Tenggara, sources of agroforestry information were limited compared to more developed areas, such as Gunung Kidul in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Reliable sources of information, and technology with simple characteristics and appropriateness for specific areas, affected farmers’ adoption of technology. For improvement purposes, delivery of agroforestry training or extension in the three districts should focus more on production and marketing of timber and non-timber forest products, taking into consideration participants’ backgrounds, methods, materials, time and duration of the training or extension activity. |
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