To deal with the numerous changes in strategic environment of agricultural development or global competition, farmers need to be reliable in playing their multi-functions as producers, managers/leaders, entrepreneurs or facilitators of “farmers-learning-from-farmers”.
On the other hand, competence of facilitator farmers moderated by emphathy has not optimally encouraged the effectivity of Self-training Farming and Rural Affairs centres (P4S). Thus, symptoms and facts need to be re-decribed related to the multi-roles of farmers, analysing three clusters of competence (knowledge, mental attitude, skills) of farmer role as facilitator to the effectivity of such centres in testing the emphathy in moderating the relations of competence clusters as facilitator and effectivity of P4S.
"Using the mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches with transformative sequencial strategy, this is expected to be able to answer to those issues,” said Ir. Ajat Jatnika, M.Sc, during his doctoral promotion at UGM Graduate School on Friday (9/9).
The man from Agricultural Training Centre (BBPP) Lembang, West Java, in his dissertation titled The Role of Clusters of Competence of Facilitator Farmers Moderated by Emphathy Towards Effectivity of Self-training Farming and Rural Affairs Centre of West Java Province, said that facilitator farmers of P4S in the province successfully combined their roles of "model of rational actor" as producers, managers/leaders, and entrepreneurs in agriculture. The learning model has successfully and actively participated in development mentoring, either with “farmers-learning-from-farmers”or abilities to facilitate learning.
"Particularly on learning facilities for non-farmers such as students/ women, or would-be retiring company staff,” said Ajat.
The success as facilitators, said Ajat, is because the farmers have made social exchange sequentially, starting from reciprocal exchange between facilitators and government. It is followed by negotiation exchange between facilitators and clients.
"Social support for facilitators is from agricultural persons, family, neighbours, and other fellow farmers,” he said.
His research showed knowledge, mental attitude, and skills of facilitators simultaneously affect significantly (p<0,05) to effectivity of P4S. Partially, however, the knowledge of facilitator is insignificant to the effectivity of P4S.
Meanwhile, contribution of knowledge, mental attitude, and skills of facilitators to the effectivity of P4S consecutively are 7.5 percent, 16.9 percent and 25.1 percent. The contribution of three clusters of competence of facilitator’s role towards P4S simultaneously are 32 percent, 68 percent, others are affected by factors not included in the research.