Experimenting with a green ‘Green Revolution’. Evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Indonesia

Abstract

Decades of intensively applying Green Revolution technologies came at environmental costs, i.e. degraded water and soil quality as well as a loss of biodiversity. This has led to an increased interest in organic farming, yet it remains a marginal activity in many countries. Previous studies highlighted information as an important driver of technology adoption, but little is known about the effect of removing information constraints in the context of organic farming. This study focuses on the role of information provision and training for the adoption of organic farming practices in Indonesia. We use a randomised controlled trial (RCT) complemented by qualitative research methods to identify the impact of a three-day hands-on training in organic farming for smallholder farmers. We find that the training encouraged farmers to experiment with organic inputs and positively affected farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of organic farming. Overall, our findings suggest that intensive training is a promising policy tool to enhance the use of organic farming practices. Interestingly, we find that farmers were motivated not only by the price premium, i.e. the price difference between organic and conventional products, that is associated with organic products but also by the prospect of improved soil quality.