Organic Rice: between Environmental Values and Economic Benefit

This paper aims to analyze the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers in participating in the program of organic rice area in Lombok Kulon Village, Wonosari Subdistrict, Bondowoso Regency. In the last decades, the discussion on how agricultural practices need to be changed has raised awareness on more sustainable products for consumer. Consumer demands for more sustainable products are increasing in the recent year. This trend encourages producers, companies, and even governments to change the way of farming practices. Bondowoso is one of the regions in East Java that has a high rate of poverty. Moreover, the majority of the society work in agricultural sector mainly rice paddy. In 2008, the district government of Bondowoso started a program to develop a region of an organic rice producing area. This program aims to improve the environmental condition and rural economy in Bondowoso. However, the environmental values is far away from the economic motive of the farmers. Applying good agricultural practices needs higher operational costs and more effort from farmers which will be difficult for them to follow. Keywords—economic benefit, environmental values, organic rice, rural development, sustainable agriculture