Organic food is not only tasty but also saves nature

Technological techniques for growing organic rice in Indonesia.

The awareness of hazards caused by the use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture makes organic farming attract the attention of both the producer and consumer levels. Organic farming is such a form of farming that minimizes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth stimulants and feed additives. Organic Standard Operational Procedure (SPO) in Indonesia refers to the best operational methods that can be carried out for organic rice production in accordance with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 01-6729-2016 concerning Organic Food System.

The problem of developing organic farming in Boyolali Regency (werw current investigation occured) is due to the absence of information between producers and consumers. Therefore, this research aimed to: (1) analyse the application of organic farming systems, (2) find out the level of perception of consumers of organic rice.

The farms of 122 farmers were investigated. According to the study, it was found that the territories where rice is cultivated generally meets the requirements of the SNI 6729 of 2016 standard: the slope of the terrain did not exceed 10-15%, the buffer zone (to prevent chemicals from entering ordinary fields) was 2 m, irrigation was performed periodically (which led to savings of more than 50% of water). Also, all farmers used seeds that were not genetically modified (GMOs), and the weeding method for weed control using the traditional tool “gosrok”. However, there were violations of the technology of the standard mentioned above: only 30% of farmers used seeds aged 18-20 days and planting intervals of 25 by 25 cm, and 70% of farmers used older seeds with a higher planting density. Also, only 30% of the Fremer used manure in the amount of 5 tons per hectare for fertilizer as recommended.

The results of the consumer survey are as follows: quality of rice, the consumers interviewed were satisfied with an average score of 90.41%. More detailed survey results are presented in the table – it can be concluded that organic rice is good for all taste properties, but its price and availability can be improved.

Taking into account the results of the study, we can conclude that it is necessary to spread the good result of the technology of growing organic rice to other farms, and the need to popularize organic food that will make it more affordable, can probably lead to lower prices.

Full Text:

Rahayu E. S. et al. Implementation of organic farming system and consumer satisfaction //IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. – IOP Publishing, 2019. – V. 633. – N. 1. – P. 012053.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/633/1/012053/meta