The Differences in Insights of Social-ecological Resilience between Organic Farmers and Extension Agents

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this research was to compare insights of organic farmers and extension agents regarding social-ecological resilience. To achieve that, forty-seven social-ecological components were used as the base. These components are features that can be applied to build resilience in organic rice production. In 2017, the components were systematically constructed by fifty-three organic farmers in four districts of Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, who grouped the four critical properties. The informants were twenty-eight extension agents working in the same districts. They were asked to assign a score to each vital property, and to gauge its significance contributed to building resilience. The scoring values were computed using the normalized method to produce the intensity of the importance of the properties. Next, an analysis of one sample t-test at the level of significance of 0.05 was carried out to compare the two parties’ intensities. The results pointed out three out of the four properties had been homogenous. The difference was only found in the property of ‘Learning to live with change and uncertainty’ due to the organic farmers’ unaltered hindrances, such as living in an aging society. This drawback can be solved by allowing organic farmers to gain access to programs facilitated by extension agents. This collective action motivates organic farmers to engage in those programs since it is designed to meet their needs.