Sorghum is an important food crop commodity in the midst of climate change conditions and the threat of a global food crisis. Sorghum, which has an adaptive advantage to all land conditions, is suitable for use as a food substitute for rice and wheat. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic value, farmers’ perceptions, and specific strategies for developing sorghum in Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The research was conducted in Wonogiri Regency, Central Java, and Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta from September to November 2022. The research was carried out through the observation of 120 respondents with indicators of farming characteristics and farmers’ perceptions of sorghum development, as well as focus group discussions (FGD) and depth interviews with indicators of internal and external factors for sorghum development. The analysis used is benefit cost (BC) to evaluate the economic value of sorghum farming, the Likert scale to determine farmers’ perceptions of sorghum, and Strength Weak Opportunity Threat (SWOT) to determine specific strategies for developing sorghum. The results showed that sorghum farming is feasible to develop in Wonogiri Central Java and Gunungkidul Yogyakarta because it provides a profit value greater than production costs with a BCR value of >1. The perception of farmers in Central Java regarding the development of sorghum is included in the very good category with an average value of 3.31, and the perception of farmers in Yogyakarta is included in the good category with an average value of 2.55. The operational policy strategy for developing sorghum in Wonogiri Central Java and Gunungkidul Yogyakarta is an expansion strategy (S-O).

Sorghum is uniquely adapted to dryland and used by the Indonesian government to optimize the utilization of dryland and increase farmers’ incomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the contribution of sorghum to increasing income and the level of welfare of dryland farmer households in Wonogiri, Central Java, Indonesia. The study was conducted from October to December 2022 using a survey method through direct interviews with purposively selected sorghum-growing farmers. A set of questions included household income and expenditure. The average total income and expenditure indicators, poverty line figures, RMW, and ERFHI were used to measure the welfare level of farmer households. The study found that the income derived from sorghum contributes 22.87% to total household income and tends to increase household income by 29.65%. According to the average total income earned, farming households were in a prosperous condition. This can be seen from the total income, which is higher than the total expenditure, the average per capita income higher than the poverty line, the average total income higher than RMW, and the value of ERFHI at 1.25. Income derived from sorghum has increased by 21.43–56.00% from less prosperous households to prosperous ones. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the existing literature on sorghum development and farmers’ income and to be a reference for policy makers in formulating poverty alleviation programs and improving the welfare of farmer households, as well as expanding sorghum development by optimizing the utilization of agroecological, economic and social resources.

The high sedimentation rate of Rawapening Lake is both an environmental challenge and a potential resource. Seedlings currently rely on single-use plastic polybags, which contribute significantly to plastic waste. The use of mineral soil as a growing medium can accelerate natural resource depletion. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and sustainability of utilizing lake sediment as an alternative seedling media through soil block technology. An integrated Life Cycle Assessment was conducted to quantify the environmental impacts, and Multidimensional Scaling was applied to assess sustainability across environmental, technological, economic, social, and institutional dimensions. Field data from ten seedling producers using soil blocks and ten using polybags were analyzed. The results showed that soil block media reduced Global Warming Potential by 48% compared to polybags, increased phosphorus and organic matter content, and was more financially efficient, with an increase in productivity of 90.24% and a revenue cost ratio of 24.56%. Sustainability analysis classified the innovation as moderately sustainable, with the highest scores in the environmental and technological dimensions. Institutional support was identified as a limiting factor. These findings suggest that sediment-based soil block media are a viable, lower-impact alternative for seedling production, although scaling up will require policy and institutional support.

Variety is one of innovations that could contribute to the increase of rice production. The objectives of this study were to compare the agronomic performance of rice varieties and its feasibility of new high yield varieties namely Inpari 30, Inpari 32 and Inpari 33) with the existing variety (Mekongga). Research was conducted in Banjaranyar Village, Balapulang Subdistrict, Tegal Regency. The agronomic performance observed were the height of plants, number of productive tillers, length of panicles, number of grain/panicles, and yield or milled dry grain production. Meanwhile the feasibility study was calcutaed in term of Revenue Cost Ratio (R/C) analysis. Result showed the significant different in observed performance among varieties. The productivity of Inpari 30, Inpari 32 and Inpari 33 were 5.45, 5.97, and 5.89 tons/ha of milled dry grain (GKG) respectively. All new high yield varieties showed better production performance compared to Mekongga (4.96 tons/ha GKG). The feasibility study showed R/C value of Inpari 30, Inpari 32, Inpari 33 and Mekongga were 1.28, 1.41, 1.39 and 1.14, respectively. Among these varieties, Inpari 32 has the highest feasibility study value.

The increasing rate of shallot production of Central Java Province for the last ten years was lower than the national rate, indicated the need for new technology development. The study aims to determine the economic feasibility of the newly seedling planting technique in three planting distances (10 x 10 cm, 10 x 15 cm, and 15 x 15 cm). In that case, farmers use seed bulbs. The research was carried out in Padang Village, Tanggungharjo Subdistrict, Grobogan Regency, from August to October 2018. Financial analysis, consisting of BCR, MBCR, break-even point of both production and price, and competitive advantage of the techniques were analyzed. The results showed that the newly seedling technologies and planting distance were able to increase the productivity of shallots ranging from 12,685 to 21,088 kg. At the price of shallot bulbs at IDR 10,000 per kg, 10x10 cm planting distance resulted in the highest profit (IDR 180,790,100/ha). It was much higher compared to the farmers' technology (IDR 9,299,000/ha). Based on break-even point analysis, seedling planting technology has a tolerance limit of production and prices decreasing between 67.24% to 71.44% compared to existing technology (16.03%). Seedling planting technology has a competitive advantage with a net profit ratio of 13.76 to 19.44 and a minimum selling price of IDR 3,239 to IDR 3,622 to obtain the same profit as existing technology. Thus, the technology of planting shallot seedlings at a spacing of 10 x 10 cm is recommended to increase the production and profits of shallot farming.

The low availability of nutrients is an obstacle to increasing rice productivity in rainfed rice fields. The application of a combination of biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers was known to increase the efficiency of using inorganic fertilizers. This study aims to determine the effect of biofertilizers on the growth and yield of rice plants in a rainfed rice field. The study was conducted on rainfed rice fields in Banyusri Village, Wonosegoro District, Boyolali Regency from September to December 2013. A total of 6 biofertilizer products were used in this study, namely PR, RC, ST, AGR, BV and GLK. The rice variety used was Situ Patenggang. The study used a randomized block design with 9 treatments and each treatment was repeated 4 times. The nine treatments were: fertilization according to the recommendations of dry soil test device (P1); ½ dose of P1 (P2); P2 + manure (P3); P2 + PR (P4); P2 + RC (P5); P2 + ST (P6); P2+AGR (P7); P2+BV (P8); P2+GLK (P9). Planting using a 2:1 jajar legowo system with a spacing of 20 x 10 x 40 cm was carried out by direct planting of 4-5 seeds per hole. Biofertilizer application is carried out according to the instructions of each product. Parameters observed included: soil chemical status (N, P, K, C-organic, pH, CEC) before the study; plant growth (plant height, number of tillers and number of productive tillers); yield (weight of harvested dry grain and dry milled); and a simple farming analysis was carried out. The results showed that all combinations of biofertilizers with ½ recommended dose were effective in increasing rice yields but they could not match the yield of rice fertilized according to the recommended dose. The combination of fertilization using GLK biofertilizer showed the highest yield compared to other biofertilizers with an advantage of 48.05% compared to ½ recommended dose of fertilization.