Which One is Stronger to Affect Innovation Adoption by Balinese Farmers: Government Role or Local Wisdom?

Abstract

Bali is a popular tourist destination that still maintain its typical culture in many areas of life, including in agriculture. Basic implementation of the primary sector in this island is based on the local wisdom called Tri Hita Karana or three causes of happiness. Tri Hita Karana consists of Parahyangan, Pawongan, and Palemahan, the harmonious relationship between human and God, fellow human beings, and the environment. Decision-making of farmers to do adoption of innovations always considering compliance with the local wisdom. Agricultural innovation has been developed from the results of research and development by the government. The government has several functions in the agriculture sector, such as: regulation functions, education functions, control functions, supervise functions, and stabilization functions. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the implementation of local knowledge and the role of the government towards the adoption of innovation, and to determine the factors which have a dominant effect on the adoption of modernization. The results showed that both the implementation of local wisdom and government role have positive and significant effect on innovation adoption by Balinese farmers. In fact, the implementation of local wisdom is stronger to affect innovation adoption than government role. Therefore, it is suggested that in the research and development innovation for agriculture, the government and researcher always consider the suitability with local wisdom, so that innovations can be adopted by farmers optimally.