Rice Postharvest Practices among Marginal-Land Farmers

Abstract

Gunungkidul Regency is the highest rice producer in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), despite being dominated by marginal lands consisting of karst hills and rain-fed drylands. This study aimed to (1) characterize rice postharvest practices among farmers in the three selected study locations (Ponjong, Rongkop, and Semin subdistrict), and (2) examine associations between study location and selected postharvest practices. A quantitative descriptive approach was employed, surveying 128 purposively selected rice farmers through structured interviews in May-June 2026. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe postharvest practices, while associations between subdistrict and selected single-response categorical variables were examined using Pearson’s chi-square test of independence (α = 0.05), with Cramer’s V used to describe the strength of the association. Harvesting remained predominantly manual, whereas power threshers were used by more than 90% of respondents across the three locations. Drying duration, awareness of target grain moisture content, and storage duration were significantly associated with study location (p < 0.001), with Cramér’s V values of 0.304, 0.417, and 0.281, respectively. Overall, 75.8% of respondents were unaware of the target grain moisture content. Harvest-timing indicators showed a borderline nominal association with study location (p = 0.049; Cramér’s V = 0.222), which should be interpreted cautiously in the context of multiple statistical tests. These findings demonstrate heterogeneity in rice postharvest management among the selected study locations and support context-specific interventions, particularly for moisture-based drying management and storage.