Kontribusi Kelompok Tani dalam Meningkatkan Produktivitas Usahatani Jagung di Desa Sirna Galih Kecamatan Sungkai Selatan

This study was conducted to analyze the relationship between the roles of farmer groups, encompassing their functions as a learning class, a cooperation medium, and a production unit, and the productivity of corn farming, as well as to examine the various constraints faced by farmer groups in improving corn farming productivity in Sirna Galih Village, South Sungkai District. The study employed a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The population consisted of 265 corn farmers who were members of farmer groups, with 40 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documentation, and were then analyzed using validity tests, reliability tests, descriptive analysis, and Spearman's Rank correlation test with the assistance of SPSS version 25. The findings show that the roles of farmer groups as a learning class, a cooperation medium, and a production unit were not significantly related to corn farming productivity. This is indicated by significance values of 0.455, 0.548, and 0.257, respectively, all of which exceed the significance level of 0.05. Therefore, no statistically significant relationship was found between the roles of farmer groups and corn farming productivity among the sampled farmers. The remaining constraints include the suboptimal function of farmer groups as a learning medium, the limited discussion of cultivation problems at each meeting, and disruptions caused by pests, plant diseases, and changing weather conditions.