FARMERS BEHAVIOUR REGARDING FOOD SECURITY BY PRACTICING THE ‘SALOME’ FARMING SYSTEM AS LOCAL WISDOM IN WEST TIMOR, EAST NUSA TENGGARA PROVINCE, INDONESIA

Abstract

In West Timor, farmers employ local knowledge as part of their ancestral heritage, called the ‘salome’ traditional farming system. The farmers believe that the ‘salome’ system is able to increase the standard of food security. The goal of this study was to investigate the philosophy, socioeconomic factors, motivation and perceptions of farmers using this system. We investigated the existing ‘salome’ local farming system in Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS), a district of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) province. A survey method was used with open-ended questions involving 126 interviews with farmers in West Timor. The data were descriptively analysed using SPPS. The results show that farmer’s behaviour regarding the practice of ‘salome’ was influenced by social aspects, such as social norms, attitudes and intent, as well as motivations and perceptions regarding the effectiveness of ‘salome’ to overcome food insecurity. The practice of ‘salome’ is related to the indigenous food called ‘jagung katemak’. Farmers were highly satisfied with the ‘salome’ system as a means to enhance food security. The implications are that the government should increase the quality of services, based on local wisdom to support the use ‘salome’ to fulfil food requirements.