Innovation attributes and their linkages to behavioral drivers of farmers’ intention to adopt True Shallot Seed

Abstract

True Shallot Seed (TSS) has been promoted as an alternative solution to overcome shallot yield problems in Indonesia. A case study method was employed to assess perceptions of innovation attributes and their linkages to behavioral drivers of farmers’ intention to adopt TSS. Respondents were shallot farmers in Cirebon and Brebes involved in participatory on-farm trials. All innovation attributes, i.e. relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, triability and observability are perceived as positive by farmers. Farmers’ attitudes toward TSS suggest a favorable evaluation of TSS innovation. Concerning subjective norms, farmers believe that researchers/extension workers encourage their behavior to adopt TSS. In terms of behavioral control, farmers perceive the ease of performing TSS adoption. Meanwhile, farmers also indicate a high intention to perform the behavior of adopting TSS. This pre-adoption case study has generated some hypotheses for further detailed examination and test. Those hypotheses address important research needs, such as understanding TSS innovation attributes as perceived by farmers, the antecedents of farmers’ attitudes toward TSS, and the role of farmers’ behavioral preferences toward intentions to adopt TSS. It is recommended to integrate the innovation diffusion theory with the theory of planned behavior as the framework for future adoption studies using survey research method.