photo credit: Alice Karolina-Smith

A recent study published in the Proceedings series of Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research revealed that, while many farmers in Indonesia want to transition to organic and know the regulations, more research and extension would help them actually implement organic management. In this study, researchers surveyed 70 rice farmers in Indonesia and found that the vast majority of them know about organic practices required to comply with certification, but they face challenges to implementing these practices. Keeping land and irrigation water separated between their conventional and organic transition rice fields, and managing for pests and diseases were especially difficult for farmers. On the other hand, they found switching to organic fertilizer was easy, and organic seeds were affordable. More research and extension would increase the adoption of organic management in this developing region, which is imperative as the demand for organic food and fiber increases on a global scale.