Quest Journals Journal of Research in Environmental and Earth Sciences Volume 9 ~ Issue 2 (2023) pp: 103-108 ISSN(Online) :2348-2532 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: Elissabeth Sri Pujiastuti 103 | Page Agroecotechnology Department Universitas HKBP Nommensen Research Paper Increasing Farmers' Knowledge and Action in Agroforestry-Based Coffee Cultivation Novita Rosiani Haloho¹, Elisabeth Sri Pujiastuti 2 , Ferlist Rio Siahaan 2 , Susana Tabah Trina Sumihar 2 1 (Agribusiness Department Universitas HKBP Nommensen Medan) 2 (Agroecotechnology Department Universitas HKBP Nommensen Medan) Corresponding Author: Elisabeth Sri Pujiastuti ABSTRACT:Agroforestry is a type of land management by expanding the types of crops and livestocks that can be combined in one area of land which has a positive impact on both land conditions and the added value of agricultural products. The development of coffee agroforestry systems with various trees provides shade to the main crop. The system can also produce other products like those obtained from forest ecosystems, such as building materials, fruit, firewood and medicinal plants. This study used descriptive quantitative research methods with the secondary data analysis approach. The secondary data needed was general data of the research location, both the physical environment and the socio-economic community data related to farmers' income. The data were obtained based on reference studies from various sources. The dominant crops in the farmers' fields (90%) were bananas and cocoa. Bananas and cocoa are widely chosen by the community because these plants can be harvested in a short time. In addition, bananas and cocoa can be combined with other types of plants. Land cultivation activities were done individually and in groups which were carried out in accordance with the Technical Guidelines for Good Coffee Cultivation, starting from land preparation, planting shade, nursering, planting, fertilizing, pruning and shade plants management. The type of product that often sold was from coffee plant because the harvest period was short, which was every week, so the farmers were able to get faster and easier income. KEYWORDS: Agroforestry, Coffee Cultivation, Farmers’ Income Received 25 Jan., 2023; Revised 07 Feb., 2023; Accepted 09 Feb., 2023 © The author(s) 2023. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org I. INTRODUCTION The majority of the people of Samosir District work as farmers, since there is a fast area of land that can be used for farming. Coffee is one of the potential plantation commodities in Samosir District. Cocoa and coffee are plantation crops that are widely planted by farmers because they are superior crops and the demand is high, so they give a larger farmers' income than other agroforestry crops [1]. The dominance of smallholder plantations leads to coffee farmers to be the main coffee producers. Coffee farmers still have difficulty in getting access to capital to increase productivity, especially in purchasing agricultural machinery which is expected to be able to support the post-harvest process [2]. Coffee is also one of Indonesia's export commodities which is quite important as a foreign exchange earner besides oil and gas. In addition to the increasingly open export opportunities, the domestic coffee market is still open widely. The coffee production from 2018 - 2020 has been fluctuated. In 2018 coffee production was 756.05 thousand tons, decreased to 752.51 thousand tons (as high as 0.47%) in 2019. In 2020 coffee production increased to 762.38 thousand tons (as high as 1.31%). The coffee production according to cultivation status in 2020 was 757.3 thousand tons or 99.33% [3]. Many of the farmers in Samosir apply an agroforestry system in their agricultural land. Arabica coffee plants can grow and bear fruit optimally at altitudes above 1,000 m above sea level, while robusta coffee at altitudes of 400–800 m above sea level [2]. Agroforestry is a type of land management by expanding various types of crops and livestock which can be combined and matched in one area of land which has a positive impact both on land conditions and on the added value of agricultural products. Agroforestry is a form of multi-canopies land use consisting of a mixture of trees, shrubs or annual crops which are often accompanied by livestock in one plot of land [4].