FACTORS INFLUENCED PADDY FARMERS TO USE OR NOT USE ORGANIC FERTILIZERS IN SOUTH SUMATERA, INDONESIA

Rice farming in the tidal wetland require specific cultivation techniques. The using of anorganic fertilizers can cause soil damage and loss of production. One way to minimize the loss was by introducing the use of organic fertilizer to improve the soil fertility. This research tries to elaborate the probability of farmers to use the organic fertilizer under some factors influence in a case tidal wetland at South Sumatera, Indonesia.This research aimed to analyze factors influenced paddy farmers to use or not use organic fertilizer. This research implemented in 9 villages, 5 districts in Banyuasin as one of tidal wetland in South Sumatera. Techniques used in the sampling of this research is randomly layered unbalanced. Population farmers grouped into paddy farmers who had already used organic fertilizers, either fully or semi-organic, and only used inorganic fertilizers.The probability of rice farmers to use or not use organic fertilizers is affected by some aspects could be value by binary choice model or Logit Model. The results showed that the land size, experiences, a ratio of fertilizer to rice price were significantly affect chances of paddy farmers to use organic fertilizers in the tidal wetland.