Institutional determinants and technological adoption pathways influencing rice farming success: evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

Institutional capacity is increasingly recognized as a critical determinant of agricultural performance in smallholder systems. However, its interaction with resource access and technology adoption remains insufficiently understood. This study aims to analyze the role of farmer institutions in the success of rice farming in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi Province. The study was conducted using a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach involving 406 randomly selected farmer respondents. The latent variables in this research include Organizational Management, Social Solidarity, Financial Support, Access to Agricultural Production Inputs, Access to Information and Training, Technology Adoption, and Farming Success. The results show that farmer institutions play a significant role in enhancing access to agricultural inputs and information, ultimately strengthening the capacity for technology adoption and farming success. Access to production inputs is the most dominant factor directly affecting farming success as well as indirectly through technology adoption as a mediating variable. Meanwhile, organizational management and social solidarity contribute greatly to the effectiveness of institutions, while financial support requires more adaptive governance to have an optimal impact. These findings assert that farmer institutions serve as the main driver in the integration of economic, social, and technological innovation to realize the sustainability of the rice farming system.