Impact of certified rice seed on farmers’ income in Simalungun District, North Sumatra

¹ Indonesian Center for Agricultural Socio-Economic and Policy Studies, Ministry of Agriculture, Bogor, Indonesia
² Research Center for Horticultural and Estate Crops, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
³ Research Center for Food Crops, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bogor, Indonesia
⁴ Research Centre for Economics of Industry, Services, and Trade, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
⁵ International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA

^* Corresponding author: sheilasavitri@gmail.com

Abstract

This study examines how certified rice seed adoption contributes to farmers’ incomes and its impact on agricultural productivity. This study aims to describe the differences between certified and non-certified rice seed adoption on farmers’ income in Simalungun District, specifically in the Siantar and Panombeian Panei sub-districts. The research type was quantitative and descriptive using a survey method. The selection of respondent farmers used a simple random sampling technique, where 40 farmers used certified seeds and 20 farmers used non-certified seeds. The results showed that the average yield of rice farming using the certified seed was 5,615 kg/ha (IDR 26,651,553) with a total production cost of IDR 11,013,535 and a profit of IDR 15,638,018. Meanwhile, the average yield of rice farming using non-certified seed was 4,444 kg/ha (IDR 21,927,198) and the total cost was IDR 9,633,634, and a profit of IDR 12,293,564. The R/C ratios of using certified and non-certified seeds were 2.42 and 2.28, respectively. The analysis showed that certified seeds outperformed non-certified ones in terms of yield, income, and profit. These positive results should encourage the government to promote certified seed adoption to increase rice production and farmers’ incomes.