Factors affecting hybrid corn production

Abstract In Indonesia, corn is the second source of carbohydrates after rice, with high demand for food and animal feed. The Indonesian government aims to achieve corn self-sufficiency by 2024 and is actively promoting the cultivation of hybrid corn. Hybrid corn is higher productivity; however, the high cost of hybrid corn seeds has limited their adoption among farmers. Pesisir Selatan is the second-largest corn producer in West Sumatra. In 2022, it produced 203,010.56 tons, a decline from 241,376.69 tons in 2020. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the factors affecting hybrid corn production in Pesisir Selatan. Researchers interviewed 50 randomly farmers and used the Cobb-Douglas function. The production of hybrid corn (Y) to be influenced by seeds (X 1 ), labor (X 2 ), fertilizers (X 3 ), and pesticides (X 4 ). The analysis revealed that input variables could explain 89.75% of the variation in production. While seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and labor collectively impact production, but only seeds as the primary driver of hybrid corn production and increasing returns to scale, with a value of 1.06. This indicates that adding more production inputs leads to a proportionately greater increase in output. To achieve optimal production, farmers should be encouraged to use seeds inputs effectively.