The Empowerment Strategy of Newly Irrigated Rice Field Farmers through LEISA: Strategi Pemberdayaan Petani Lahan Cetak Sawah Baru melalui LEISA

Many newly irrigated rice field farmers in Bangka district leave their land empty. Farmers choose to do other farming activities or mining activities rather than rice cultivation. The area of newly irrigated rice fields in Bangka district is currently 2,200 hectares. The development of newly irrigated rice fields aims to increase rice production. The research aims: (1) Knowing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by farmers in the cultivation of rice in Kimak village, (2) Alternative strategies for community empowerment to increase farmers' incomes. The research was conducted in July-November 2019. The community empowerment strategy applied in this research is the application of the LEISA concept. The research was conducted using observational methods, interviews, and experiments. The respondents involved were 30 farmers. The research results showed that the application of the LEISA concept generated a profit of Rp 1,974,722 per three months, in an area of 1,680m2. The implication, there is an increase in the number of farmers as many as 21 people who cultivate rice refers to the LEISA concept. Banyak petani lahan cetak sawah baru di Kabupaten Bangka membiarkan lahan mereka kosong. Petani memilih untuk melakukan kegiatan pertanian lain atau kegiatan penambangan daripada budidaya padi. Luas sawah irigasi baru di Kabupaten Bangka saat ini 2.200 hektar. Pencetakan sawah baru bertujuan untuk meningkatkan produksi beras. Penelitian ini bertujuan: (1) Mengetahui kekuatan, kelemahan, peluang, dan ancaman yang dihadapi petani dalam budidaya padi di desa Kimak, (2) Strategi alternatif untuk pemberdayaan masyarakat untuk meningkatkan pendapatan petani. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada bulan Juli-November 2019. Strategi pemberdayaan masyarakat yang diterapkan dalam penelitian ini adalah penerapan konsep LEISA. Penelitian dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode observasi, wawancara, dan eksperimen. Responden yang terlibat adalah 30 petani. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penerapan konsep LEISA menghasilkan keuntungan sebesar Rp 1.974.722 per tiga bulan, di area 1.680m2. Implikasinya, ada peningkatan jumlah petani sebanyak 21 orang yang menanam padi mengacu pada konsep LEISA.