Farmers’ decision-making in adopting organic agriculture to support agricultural biosecurity

This study aims to analyze farmers’ decision-making in adopting organic agriculture to support agricultural biosecurity at the farm level in rural areas. The research was conducted among 60 organic farmers in Ambon and Saparua Islands, selected through purposive sampling. A mixed-method approach was applied, combining qualitative analysis to contextualize agricultural biosecurity as farm-level practices for environmental protection, input safety, and sustainable production, with quantitative analysis using SEM-PLS to examine factors influencing adoption decisions. The results indicate that organic agriculture contributes to agricultural biosecurity by enhancing environmental protection, reducing chemical dependency, and supporting sustainable crop production. Quantitative findings reveal that community support and the availability of production inputs and marketing networks significantly influence farmers’ decisions to adopt organic agriculture. Among these factors, the availability of inputs and marketing networks shows the strongest direct effect on adoption, indicating that access to resources and market connectivity plays a crucial role in strengthening farm-level biosecurity practices. Overall, the study highlights that farmers prioritize environmentally friendly, healthy, and high-quality agricultural production, and that strengthening institutional support and market access is essential to promote organic agriculture as a strategy for agricultural biosecurity in rural areas.