Motivations and challenges in adopting food security strategies: Insights from rural Indonesia

Food security strategies are widely promoted as pathways to strengthen the economic and social welfare of smallholder farmers, yet their implementation still faces practical and contextual barriers. This study explores how rural farmers in Bone District, Indonesia, interpret and adopt food security strategies within their daily agricultural practices. Using diffusion of innovation theory as an analytical framework, data were collected through a household survey (n = 40) and semi-structured interviews (n = 20). Results show that 68 % of farmers associate food security with adaptive processes such as crop diversification and adjusting planting schedules to natural signs, while 32 % define it in terms of tangible outcomes like food sufficiency and household stability. The most common strategies include planting maize and peanuts as companion crops (75 %) and homegarden diversification (55 %). Key motivations are increasing yields and income (82 % of respondents), reducing crop failure risks (70 %), and preserving inherited local knowledge (63 %). Conversely, limited capital (65 %), poor infrastructure (58 %), and market uncertainty (52 %) are the dominant barriers. Although four out of five farmers recognize the long-term benefits of adopting adaptive strategies, structural constraints limit their wider diffusion. These findings underline the need to strengthen access to finance, improve rural infrastructure, and enhance farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange to accelerate sustainable food security adoption across rural communities.