Determinants of rice by-product utilization as a potential local feed for ruminants in Magelang Regency, Indonesia

This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence farmers in using rice straw as feed for their ruminants. Primary data was obtained from a survey through face-to-face interviews involving a total of 395 farmers as respondents in Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Farmers were selected by multistage random sampling. The data, then, were analyzed by using logistic regression. The results showed that 45.06 (178 respondents) used rice straw as feed, where only 3.37 (6 respondents) adopted the fermented straw. The type of ruminant kept by farmers, the amount of training attended, and land size affected the rice straw utilization as ruminants feed. Adopters of rice straw utilization are farmers who maintain large ruminants and tend to manage large areas of land. This finding also revealed that providing continuous training on feed technology for farmers is important. Furthermore, periodic assistance by extension workers is needed to enhance farmers in adopting the innovation of agricultural technology.