Comparison of tillage costs among eight paddy farm regions in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Background: Tillage is done to prepare land for wetland paddy farming, and it is commonly done by hand tractor. The purposes of this study were to identify the levels of ownership of hand tractor by paddy farmers, to describe the rental of hand tractor in rural areas, to calculate and compare the tillage costs on eight paddy farm regions, and to understand the utilization of farm machinery for paddy farming in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Methods: The study areas were Subcities/Subregencies of North Bontang, South Bontang, Muara Muntai, Loa Janan, Tenggarong Seberang, Waru, Penajam, and Babulu. Data collection was done by interviewing 380 respondents. Analysis of data used descriptive statistics, the Chi Square One Sample test, and One Way Anova. Results: The number of hand tractor renters (87.37%) in East Kalimantan 2014 was bigger than that of hand tractor owners (12.63%). The tillage costs in Tenggarong Seberang, Loa Janan, and Muara Muntai in 2014 were USD48.56 ha (-1), USD52.03 ha (-1), and USD48.56 ha (-1), respectively. Tillage costs were the same in Babulu, Penajam, Waru, South Bontang, and North Bontang (USD69.37 ha (-1) in each regency). Conclusions: There are very significant differences the number of hand tractor owners, the number of hand tractor renters, and the tillage costs among some regions in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Farm machinery is needed in development of paddy farming.