Agricultural Extension Workers’ Willingness to Share Information and Exchange Knowledge to Utilize the Lentera DESA Platform

Abstract

Agricultural extension workers play an important role in supporting farmers’ access to agricultural information and innovation. However, the declining number of extension workers in the Special Region of Yogyakarta has created challenges in maintaining effective information flow among extension institutions and farmer groups. Digital platforms such as Lentera DESA may provide opportunities for extension workers to share information and exchange knowledge beyond institutional and regional boundaries. This study aimed to analyse the level of willingness to share information and the level of knowledge exchange among agricultural extension workers who participated in digital literacy training related to the use of the Lentera DESA platform in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The 50% threshold was used as a reference point because, theoretically, extension workers who have participated in digital literacy training are expected to be more likely to share information and exchange knowledge actively. This threshold also took initial observations into account, although the study was conducted during the transition period of the extension-worker nomenclature shift to the central government, which resulted in additional tasks and potentially affected participation in knowledge-exchange activities. The study was conducted from December 2025 to March 2026 using a quantitative approach. A census method was applied to include all 102 agricultural extension workers who participated in the training. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using a one-tailed proportion test. The findings showed that most respondents were middle-aged adults, held a bachelor’s degree, and had 16–20 years of work experience. The proportion test for willingness to share information produced a calculated Z-value of -1.39, which was lower than the critical Z-value of 1.645 at the 5% significance level. The proportion test for knowledge exchange produced a calculated Z-value of -6.73, which was also lower than the critical value. These results indicate insufficient evidence to conclude that more than 50% of the extension workers had a high willingness to share information or a high level of knowledge exchange. The study suggests that information-sharing and knowledge-exchange practices related to the Lentera DESA platform remain limited among the training participants.