RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTICIPATION IN FARMERS' GROUPS AND THE INCOME OF RICE FARMERS IN MANGGENG DISTRICT

The agricultural sector is one of the sectors that is the center of attention in national development. Management and utilization of agricultural products are expected to be carried out in a more planned manner with optimum utilization for community welfare. Manggeng District has high agricultural land potential, especially for paddy fields. Farmer groups in Manggeng District, Southwest Aceh Regency are expected to be able to increase agricultural production which can ultimately increase farmers' income. However, many people still assume that farmer groups do not have a role in increasing farmers' income. Farmers are reluctant to participate in extension activities that are useful as information/knowledge in increasing agricultural productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of farmer participation in paddy field farmer groups in Manggeng District, to determine the factors that influence farmer group participation in Manggeng District and to determine and analyze the relationship between participation and income of paddy field farmers in Manggeng District. The sample in this study was 42 paddy field farmers in Manggeng District. The analysis method used is the descriptive statistical analysis method and correlation test with the Spearman rank method. The results of the study obtained the participation index of the advanced category farmer group ( 5 years) of 0.75 and the participation index of the middle category farmer group (= 5 years) was 0.74. The average income of the advanced category farmer group was Rp. 2,177,250 (medium income level), while the average income of the middle farmer group was Rp. 1,275,627 (low income level). The relationship between participation and the income of rice farmers in Manggeng District found that participation had a significant effect on the income of rice farmers in Manggeng District with a significance value of 0.000 smaller than 0.05. The Correlation Coefficient value was 0.585 with a correlation level of the two research variables being moderate (quite strong) with a positive relationship direction.