Effectiveness of Innovation Dissemination in Efforts to Increase Adoption of Sustainable Rice Innovation using LISREL

Abstract

The main issue related to the role of innovation-producing institutions during the last two decades is the limited innovation adopted by end users. The aim of this study was to (1) analyze the perceptions of researchers-extension agents-farmers about the accuracy and speed of innovation,(2) analyze the factors that influence the accuracy and speed of adoption and diffusion of innovation, and (3) formulate effective strategies for disseminating innovation in the future. The study was conducted through a survey approach, from March to December 2018 at rice production centers in Central Java and West Java Provinces, Indonesia. Number of respondents (n) was 270 rice farmers. The first objective was answered using descriptive analysis and tabulation, while the second and third objectives were answered using Structural Equation Models (SEM) with LISREL software version 8.72. SEM analysis is a combination of factor analysis, path analysis and regression. The results of the study indicated differences in perceptions within researchers-extension agents-farmers about the accuracy of innovation. The effectiveness of dissemination is very strongly represented by indicators of time and quality accuracies. The effectiveness of dissemination is at the same time a factor influencing the acceleration of diffusion. In the future, it is necessary to investigate the accuracy of each innovation produced by Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD), and understand every actor who plays roles in the innovation system, starting from the producer/provider of innovation, extension agents and other sources of information, as well as users/farmers. The other factors influencing the dissemination of innovation (delivery system) are the capacity of the information sources and the characteristics of the innovation itself.