The effectiveness of community-based eco-farm waste management training on enhancing farmers' environmental awareness: The role of government support and sustainability attitudes

Farmers' environmental awareness is pivotal in adopting sustainable agricultural practices, especially managing livestock waste. This study explores the effectiveness of community-based training models in enhancing farmers' environmental awareness in East Java, Indonesia, while considering the moderating roles of government support and attitudes toward sustainability. A quantitative experimental approach was employed, utilizing a pretest-posttest control group design with a sample of 160 farmers. The participants were divided into experimental and control groups, with the former receiving community-based eco-farm waste management training. Data were analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA to examine the impact of training, government support, and sustainability attitudes. The findings highlight that community-based training significantly improved environmental awareness compared to conventional training methods. Farmers who participated in community-based training and received high government support demonstrated the highest environmental awareness scores. Moreover, a positive attitude toward sustainability further amplified the training's effectiveness. This participatory approach fosters collaboration, experiential learning, and collective responsibility among farmers, making it superior to top-down training models. The study's novelty lies in integrating social, technological, and educational dimensions, which holistically address livestock waste management challenges. The training model offers practical and scalable solutions to promote sustainable farming practices by combining community-driven efforts with government incentives. However, the study is limited to rural areas in East Java, and future research should broaden its geographical scope and incorporate longitudinal analyses to assess long-term impacts. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding and practical application of participatory approaches in agricultural sustainability. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between communities and policymakers to foster environmental stewardship and improve waste management practices in farming communities.