Farmer’s willingness to accept the sustainable zoning-based organic farming development plan: A lesson from Sleman District, Indonesia

Abstract

Zoning-based organic farming has become increasingly attractive in Indonesia for producing healthy food, improving the quality of land and the environment, and increasing the welfare of farmers. The problem is that organic farming areas should be certified by a legal agency called the National Standardization Agency and the cost should be paid by farmers in those areas. Zoning allows the farmers to jointly manage farming areas, including payment of certification costs. However, the success of zoning-based organic farming implementation depends on farmers’ acceptability. This study aims to analyse perceptions and knowledge regarding zoning-based organic farming plans, measure the level of farmers’ willingness to accept (WTA) zoning-based organic farming plans and determine the effect of economic, ecological, and social support factors, as well as other factors towards WTA the zoning-based organic farming system. This study found that the majority of farmers perceive zoning-based organic farming as economically viable and ecologically and socially supported compared to conventional farming since most of the farmers have good knowledge regarding the importance of zoning. Although the farmers have long been experiencing conventional farming, the number of WTA farmers in zoning-based organic farming is very high. The study confirmed that the ecological aspect is the most influential in accepting zoning-based organic farming. Economic factors have a very strong influence on increasing farmers’ WTA zoning-based organic farming. This study also suggests that the implementation of zoning-based organic farming needs to be sustainably supported by the community.