Forestry Extension Workers in Maros Boost Forest Farmers' Knowledge

Image: article cover, from Imran et al. (2025), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from Universitas Muslim Maros has assessed the performance of forestry extension workers in Tompobulu District, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi. Published in Jurnal Wasian, the study involved 57 respondents from six villages: Bonto Somba, Bonto Manurung, Bonto Matinggi, Bonto Manai, Tompobulu and Pucak. Its aim was to examine the extent to which extension workers help forest farmer groups manage and utilise forest products.

The results identify six roles of extension workers that significantly enhance forest farmers' knowledge and skills. Extension workers help farmer groups draw up maps of forest product utilisation, prepare annual work plans, improve the quality of human resources, disseminate information on forest product technology, foster group self-reliance, and increase the production of priority commodities. However, three other roles showed no significant influence: facilitating business partnerships between farmer groups, entrepreneurs and government; helping to secure access to business capital from financial institutions, banks and government; and facilitating improvements in farmer groups' income and welfare.

For communities living around the forests of Maros, these findings indicate that extension support is felt most strongly in practical, on-the-ground matters such as work planning and increased production. Support for capital and business partnerships, meanwhile, still needs strengthening so that farmers can benefit more fully from the forest. The study notes that the performance of forestry extension workers is one of the keys to sustaining Indonesia's forest resources.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Forestry Extension Performance in Enhancing Forest Farmer Knowledge and Skills: A Case Study in Tompobulu, Maros Regency by Andi Nur Imran, Andi Khairil A.Samsu and Muliana Muliana Djafar, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 11 No. 1 (2025). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Imran, A. N., A.Samsu, A. K., & Muliana Djafar, M. (2025). Forestry Extension Performance in Enhancing Forest Farmer Knowledge and Skills: A Case Study in Tompobulu, Maros Regency. Jurnal Wasian, 11(1), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.62142/yh5d8v03

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.