Assessing the Challenges and Opportunities of Agricultural Information Systems to Enhance Farmers’ Capacity and Target Rice Production in Indonesia

Abstract

Current technological developments make it easier for users to access the information needed in handling their farming. The study’s objectives are to determine the performance of the agricultural information system (AIS) service for rice commodities and the relationship of these service indicators to each other in increasing farmer capacity and rice production in Indonesia. The research was conducted in three rice center provinces, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Yogyakarta, from October to December 2021. The number of respondent farmers is 473 people who have obtained or applied for AIS for at least two years. Survey techniques using purposive sampling with a non-probability method with the criteria used are farmers or officials who have received information about AIS. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis with the help of SmartPLS v.3.2.9 software was performed to see multivariate relationships and continued by using importance performance analysis (IPA) to evaluate the performance of information system attributes. The results showed that the productive age, education level, and experience in rice farming were more than 10 years, enabling the application of AIS in Indonesia by strengthening the internet network and improving the attributes of security services, ease of application, accuracy, suitability, output interpretation, and accuracy, which will increase user loyalty.