Turning Indonesia Organic: Insights from Transdisciplinary Research on the Challenges of a Societal Transformation

Abstract

While there is a global consensus that agricultural systems need to be transformed to be more sustainable, possible pathways and challenges to this process are still debated. We analyse the challenges and opportunities involved in transforming smallholder farming to organic agriculture in Indonesia, where the intense application of Green Revolution technologies came at enormous environmental costs. We adopt a transdisciplinary approach to identify possible pathways towards organic agriculture, based on an analysis of farmers’ knowledge and barriers to adoption, value and belief systems, and institutional structures, including policies and regulations. We present our empirical findings as ‘system knowledge’, ‘target knowledge’ and ‘transformation knowledge’ and incorporate insights from both academics and practitioners. We draw on evidence from large-scale surveys, field experiments, in-depth interviews, participant observation and document analysis. A key insight of our research is that Indonesia does not lack initiatives towards organic farming, but that these various initiatives have different motivations, goals and strategies. This misalignment detracts from the transformational potential of organic agriculture and is responsible for the hitherto limited success of the organic transition. Our findings suggest that policy action at multiple levels is required, guided by an inclusive strategy that is drawn up in a participatory manner.

The nexus between green strategic consensus, innovation, and performance evidence from eco-friendly food agro-industry companies in Indonesia

“…The indicators used to develop the GSC variables are: a) mutual agreement from top management to operational level employees [50] (GSC1); b) the company's change policy to become pro-environmental sustainability [51] (GSC2); c) management distributes change strategy transparently [52] (GSC3); d) improve green policies throughout all staff lines [53] (GSC4); e) screening information for green policy development [54] (GSC5); and f) green consensus policy decisions are made independently [55] (GSC6).…”

The inhibitory effect of agricultural fiscal expenditure on agricultural green total factor productivity

“…On the other hand, the increase of AFE in neighboring provinces improves agricultural production conditions. Due to the "demonstration effect" of the provincial governments in the surrounding area 34 , agricultural producers in the region perceive that they will also receive financial support in the future. Therefore, with the improvement of agricultural production enthusiasm, agricultural producers rely on output guidance to expand profits and increase production, thus further reducing AGTFP in the local area.…”

Production Risk Analysis for Organic Cabbage Farming in Semarang District, Central Java

“…Many types of vegetables are produced, especially organic cabbage. Even so, farmers still have difficulty understanding the application of organic farming, and farmer readiness is required to decide about implementing organic farming [18,19].…”