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

Manuela Fritz, Michael Grimm, Patrick Keilbart, Dimas Dwi Laksmana, Nathalie Luck, Martina Padmanabhan, Nurcahyaningtyas Subandi and Kristian Tamtomo
Additional contact information
Manuela Fritz: School of Business, Economics and Information Systems, University of Passau, 94032 Passau, Germany
Patrick Keilbart: Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Institute of East Asian Philology, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60325 Frankfurt/M, Germany
Dimas Dwi Laksmana: Faculty of Humanities, University of Passau, 94032 Passau, Germany
Nathalie Luck: School of Business, Economics and Information Systems, University of Passau, 94032 Passau, Germany
Martina Padmanabhan: Faculty of Humanities, University of Passau, 94032 Passau, Germany
Nurcahyaningtyas Subandi: Department of Development Economics, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
Kristian Tamtomo: Department of Sociology, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-20

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.

Keywords: organic farming; transdisciplinarity; mixed-methods; technology adoption; Indonesia; sustainable agriculture; institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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