PEMANFAATAN POTENSI LIMBAH LOKAL DALAM BUDIDAYA TANAMAN HORTIKULTURA MENUJU PERTANIAN ORGANIK

Abstract

The Sekar Mewangi Women Farmers Group (KWT) is one of the active KWTs in Untoro Village which is in the Trimurjo District of Central Lampung Regency. The KWT has received routine counseling from lecturers who are members of the Community Service Team of the Dharma Wacana College of Agricultural Sciences (STIPER). The counseling is carried out in the form of socialization about utilizing the potential of local waste (cow dung, rice husks, and plant litter) into fermented compost using EM4 Biostarter. Fermentation using EM4 will accelerate the decomposition process of organic materials so that the fertilizer will mature quickly and be ready for application. The purpose of this activity is to provide knowledge to KWT on how to make fermented compost fertilizer by utilizing local waste which is quite abundant. Thus the waste can be utilized optimally and can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and the cost of farming production.  After this service activity, it is expected that KWT can provide organic compost fertilizer for the needs of farmers in Untoro village in particular. As a result of this activity, KWT members received information through knowledge transfer on how to make compost fertilizer with Biostarter. The fundamental contribution to KWT members is that after this service program farmers are able to utilize local waste to make compost that can be used as a substitute fertilizer to overcome dependence on chemical fertilizers, in the cultivation of horticultural crops towards organic farming. The purpose of this service is to provide knowledge to KWT that agricultural and livestock waste that they are engaged in can be used as raw material for making compost. Thus, the waste can be optimally utilized and can reduce the production cost of farming.