FARMER PREFERENCES FOR SHALLOT VARIETIES: EVIDENCE FROM PASIR VILLAGE, MIJEN DISTRIC DEMAK REGENCY

Mijen district is the highest shallot producing area in Demak Regency. The purpose of this research are to know; 1) the attributes characteristics that influenced farmers in choosing shallots planted, 2) The shallot variety that has highest planting frequency, and 3) Comparison of attribute of some shallot varieties that are often planted by farmers in Pasir Village. This research used descriptive method while location sampling has done purposively. The research location are Pasir Village, Mijen District. Sampling of farmers was carried out by purposive sampling, with respondents involved as many as 42 farmers, taken from 2 selected farmer groups, namely Tani Jaya farmer groups as many as 21 and Tani Makmur 21 people. Data analysis uses tabulation and perceived quality methods. The results showed that the shallot characteristics were considered by the farmers namely the age of harvest (0.18) and production yield (0.17). Farmers prefer to cultivated shallot of Bima Brebes varieties (the first planting season). Farmers planted Bima Sawo variety in the second planting season. The total preference level value obtained showed that the TPT of the Bima Curut variety is the most preferred compared to other varieties, with a value of 1.02.