The objective of this study was to find out: (1) profile of watermelon
farmers in Jetis Village, Nusawungu District, Cilacap Regency. (2) the amount of
capital spent, the level of production and income earned by the farmers in
watermelon cultivation, and the level of feasibility of the watermelon business. (3)
problems and solutions in watermelon farming.
The research method used is a survey method. Sampling was taken using
simple random sampling, from all 105 watermelon farmers and 51 respondents
(50 percent of the total farmers) were taken as respondents.
The results showed that: (1) The profile of watermelon farmers, in terms of
age, were still productive between the ages of 15-59 years. Farmer profiles based
on education level, the majority of farmers graduated from high school.
According to the number of dependents of farming families, the average is 2.9
people. Based on the area of land cultivated by watermelon farmers, Jetis Village,
Nusawungu District, on average, is no more than 0.28 Ha of land. (2) The
average production cost is IDR 9,661,133/MT per farm. The average production
produced is 4,946 Kg/MT. Revenue IDR 12,487,887,-/MT per farm. R/C of 2.29
means that each expense is Rp. 1.00, the watermelon farmer will receive Rp. 2,29.
Thus, watermelon farming in Jetis Village, Nusawungu District, Cilacap Regency
is feasible. (3) there are problems faced by farmers, including i) scarcity of
fertilizers, overcoming them by increasing the use of organic fertilizers so that
fertilizer independence is formed, ii) pest and plant disease attacks, solving the
problem with integrated pest and plant disease control, and iii ) limited farming
capital, solving the problem by cooperating with financial institutions with KUR
Agriculture.