Prospek Pengembangan Porang dan Kesejahteraan Petani: Studi di Kecamatan Kodi Utara, Sumba Barat Daya

Abstract

Porang (Amorphophallus muelleri) is a tuber crop with promising economic potential and the capacity to serve as a source of income for rural communities. This study was conducted to assess the welfare of porang farmers, identify the development prospects of porang cultivation, and examine the influence of these prospects on farmers’ welfare in Weewela Village, North Kodi District, Southwest Sumba Regency. A descriptive quantitative approach with a survey method was employed in this research. A total of 30 porang farmers were selected as respondents through purposive sampling based on the criteria of actively cultivating porang and having at least one planting season of farming experience. Data were collected through field observations, interviews, and questionnaires using a Likert scale. The data were subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression in SPSS version 25. The findings revealed that the welfare condition of porang farmers in the study area was relatively favorable. As many as 76.7% of respondents were categorized as having a high level of welfare, while 23.3% were classified in having a moderate level. Regarding business development opportunities, 90.0% of respondents perceived the prospects of porang cultivation as good to very good, supported by land availability, market opportunities, and the potential to increase income. The regression analysis demonstrated that the development prospects of porang cultivation had a positive and significant effect on farmers’ welfare, as indicated by the equation Y = 12.453 + 0.587X and a significance value of 0.000 (p < 0.05). The coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.469, indicating that 46.9% of the variation in farmers’ welfare could be explained by the development prospects of porang cultivation, while the remaining proportion was influenced by other factors not included in the model. Therefore, efforts to develop porang cultivation should be strengthened by enhancing farmer institutions, improving cultivation and post-harvest management skills, and expanding market access to sustainably improve farmers’ welfare.