Custom Hiring Services of Power Thresher for Small-Farm Rice Threshing in Kampar Regency, Indonesia

The availability of power thresher for custom hiring services has accelerated the mechanical power use in small-scale rice threshing operation in Kampar Regency. This research attempts to determine the need, used capacity, and seasonal work of power thresher and to analyze the cost, profit, and break-even of power thresher hire services managed by farmer groups. Data were collected from 15 power threshers from 10 custom-hiring services group selected using purposive sampling technique in seven districts of Kampar Regency. The interviews with group managers, custom operators, and mechanics were conducted during the main growing season in 2012. The results showed that the number of power threshers on farmer groups was limited and most of them, however, still worked under capacity. The power thresher was employed only for group members with custom work about 64.9 t/season. The seasonal work was more than break-even point of about 7.7 t/season, so the custom-hiring services of power thresher are profitable. Therefore, the method can become an alternative source of income and also extend the power thresher adoption amongst rice farmers in the region