PERSEPSI PETANI TERHADAP DAMPAK PENGGUNAAN MESIN PANEN PADI (COMBINE HARVESTER) DI KECAMATAN UJUNGJAYA KABUPATEN SUMEDANG

The This study aims to analyze the perception of farmers in the use of combine harvester machines in Sukamulya Village and Kudangwangi Village, Ujungjaya District, Sumedang Regency with the determination of respondents determined deliberately (purposive) as many as 30 farmers. The method used in this study is descriptive. The results showed that: Male farmers tended to be skeptical about the benefits of combine harvesters, with 13 disagreeing with its positive impact, while 11 female farmers strongly agreed. In contrast, 9 female farmers strongly agreed with the negative impact, while 11 male harvest workers only agreed, indicating that female farmers were more confident in the negative impact of the machine. Male farmers are more involved in the technical and operational aspects of agriculture, including the use of tools and machinery, causing concerns about costs, maintenance, or their impact on the work efficiency of male farmers. In addition, the use of combine harvesters reduces the need for manual labor, especially harvest workers, most of whom are women. This can lead to a loss of job opportunities for them so that women feel the negative impact more than men.