Integrated agriculture is an agricultural system that is in harmony with natural principles, namely seeking a balance in nature by building a pattern of mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships between each component of the agricultural ecosystem involved, by increasing biodiversity and utilizing existing natural resources. create mutually supportive and related factors in its management.
Collaborating with agriculture in certain fields can yield even greater benefits. The world of agriculture (plantation, food crop farming, animal husbandry) is a business that is able to provide economic value and increase the stability of self-sufficiency in agricultural products to meet the needs of the community. The implementation of integrated agricultural businesses will create a business concept that will complement each other.
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A sustainable farming systems approach is an agricultural systems approach that integrates new agrotechnology into existing agricultural systems with the aim of improving it. quality of life (quality of life). The concept of an integrated farming system is to combine various species of plants and animals and the application of various techniques to create suitable conditions to protect the environment as well as to help farmers maintain the productivity of their land and increase their income by diversifying their farms.
Combining several types of commodities in an ecosystem that has a mutually beneficial relationship (symbiotic mutualism) not only provides benefits to the ecosystem itself but also benefits for farmers who cultivate it, namely: it can increase income. The KWT Seroja farmer group is a women's farmer group located in Palas, Rumbai District. Currently, the KWT Seroja farmer group starts its activities by cultivating vegetables in the fields, by cultivating vegetables as well as betel nuts.
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Maximizing the use of existing land is also an effort to increase income for farmers. When space becomes a limitation in starting a business/side business, the availability of existing land can be maximized by planting annual crops that do not require special care but in the next few years can help provide additional income for farmers. Figure 1 shows that there are vacant lands that can be maximized. Areca nut is a commodity for export trade from Indonesia which is directed to South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Nepal.
The main betel nut exporting countries are Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar (Ministry of Agriculture, 2013). Areca nut has many uses, including being useful as an ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics, dyes in the textile industry. Increased production of areca nuts can be utilized by the community as a business opportunity.
In the past two years, the betara betel plant is very viral in the community, the seeds of betara betel are available in Jambi province in betara sub-district. The age of the areca nut is about 4 years, and each month it can produce as much as 4 kg of areca nut per month per tree. This areca nut can continue to breed for up to 25 - 30 years, as long as it is planted, and cared for in a good way. Areca nut is generally sold in the form of dried betel nut.
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The problems faced by partners are limited knowledge and the lack of availability and access to appropriate technology for betel nut varieties.
The implementation method includes several stages:
1. Socialization of the Betara variety of Tan. Pinang Cultivation. Materials provided to partners include providing technology for the Betara variety of betel nut cultivation.
2. Giving Areca Nuts Areca nut plants are given to farmers as a technology package so that they can be planted on vacant land.
3. Cultivation Practices This activity is carried out by partner groups while still being assisted by the PKM team. This activity is ongoing with the aim of providing knowledge about how to cultivate and maintain areca nut plants so that they can produce maximum.
4. Evaluation and Assistance Evaluation of community service activities is carried out as an indicator of the success of implementing activities. Evaluation is done by interviewing partners. For the sustainability of this program, the PKM team will monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program.