Department of Agribusiness, Halu Oleo University Jointly with Perhimpunan Ekonomi Pertanian Indonesia - Indonesian Society of Agricultural Economics (PERHEPI/ISAE)
Heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers has contributed to agricultural land degradation, necessitating a transition to biological fertilizers such as Nitrobacter. Despite its potential, the adoption rate of Nitrobacter in Karanganyar Regency remains low. This study analyzes the relationships between innovation characteristics, communication channels, social systems, the role of change agents, and Nitrobacter adoption, both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of farmers’ attitudes. Using a quantitative approach, 95 rice farmers were selected through multistage random sampling and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that innovation characteristics (f² = 0.185), communication channels (f² = 0.142), social systems (f² = 0.095), and change agents (f² = 0.285) have positive and significant direct relationships with adoption, with change agents emerging as the most influential factor. However, farmers’ attitudes did not mediate the relationships between these factors and adoption decisions. This finding suggests that adoption is more strongly associated with external encouragement than with the internalization of farmers’ attitudes. The model explained 74.8% of the variance in adoption (R² = 0.748). Nevertheless, the insignificant mediation paths indicate a gap between technical application and the internalization of innovation values. Therefore, extension strategies should move beyond technical demonstrations toward value-based education to strengthen the potential sustainability of adoption. This study highlights the limitations of attitude-based models in agrarian communities that are highly dependent on external support.
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