The Agricultural Technology Transfer Agencies Role on Transferring the Biogas Technology to Farmers: A Study Case of Dairy Farmer’s Network Analysis in Umbulharjo Village, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the process of biogas technology transfer to mixed crops and livestock farmers in Indonesia. The relationship between a formal mechanism model and a farmer to farmer communication network is examined to identify the effectiveness of biogas technology transfer. A case study of dairy farmers in Umbulharjo village, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia was conducted. A Social Network Analysis (SNA) was employed to identify the group of network centrality –which consists of the Degree of Centrality, Eigenvector, and Betweenness Centrality- and individual farmer attributes. In a network centrality perspective, the formal mechanism model of biogas technology transfer initially selects the elite group of farmers in the core of network as an “injection point” of the biogas technology diffusion into a society. The farmers in the core position within a network may decide to be early adopters of biogas technology which indicates an effective biogas technology transfer at an early diffusion stage. Nonetheless, the biogas technology diffusion acceleration through indigenous farmer to farmer communication is not an easy process. Individual farmers should have better understanding on the complexity of the technology and the capacity to persuade their neighboring farmers.