Using the ADOPT tool to analyse smallholder farmers’ adoption decisions in Indonesia
October 2, 2025
The Crawford Fund South Australia Committee recently supported a three-day training workshop titled “Using the ADOPT Tool to Analyse Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption Decisions”, held in collaboration with Universitas Brawijaya at the Faculty of Agriculture in Malang, Indonesia.
Dr Geoff Kuehne, from Meaningful Social Research, and Will Higham, from Farmacist, delivered the workshop which introduced participants to Smallholder ADOPT (Adoption And Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool).
“The training aimed to strengthen the capacity of agricultural researchers and extension practitioners in understanding and addressing the factors that influence smallholder farmers’ adoption of new technologies and practices,” said Geoff.
Through a combination of presentations, interactive group work, and field visits to rice and coffee farmers in Batu City, participants developed skills to:
- Identify key barriers and drivers of adoption
- Conduct effective field interviews with smallholders
- Use ADOPT to inform research, policy, and extension planning.
“Recognising the cultural differences in learning approaches between Indonesians and Australians, especially the strong preference for collaborative and group-oriented learning in Indonesia, we designed this workshop to prioritise teamwork and the gaining of shared experiences. Rather than individual tasks all sessions were built around group learning, and ensuring that participants felt comfortable, engaged, and supported by their peers,” explained Geoff.
“To create a comfortable starting point, we designed an opening activity where participants reflected on real-world barriers to adoption they had encountered in their work and write them on post-it notes. Rather than putting individuals on the spot, they were asked to map the barriers that they had identified onto a banner of the ADOPT conceptual framework thereby connecting their personal experiences to ADOPT’s theoretical foundations,” he added.
According to Geoff this approach achieved three key outcomes:
- Participants contributed without pressure from direct questioning.
- The banner became a shared visual reference point during the rest of the workshop.
- Participants were likely to have felt engaged with the learning process
- sooner by having their own adoption challenges recognised in the ADOPT framework.
“The training was enthusiastically received, with participants describing it as both practical and transformative,” said Geoff.
Feedback included:
“The training is good because we know exactly how to use the ADOPT tool to monitor and conduct evaluations of the innovation implementation, especially for the agricultural sector in Indonesia, and for the farmers especially. The workshops helped us to know or differentiate which [of the adoption influences] should be improved for the implementations in the near future.”
“From the business field it is really helpful. The tool is really helpful to make the business strategy based on the benefits and costs so that they can help to segment the innovations and the benefits and make sure the strategy goes well for each target community and target farmers in Indonesia.”
“It was a real pleasure to host you at Universitas Brawijaya during the recent training workshop. We are grateful for the expertise, energy, and professionalism you both brought. Our faculty and participants greatly benefitted from the sessions,” said Prof Mangku Purnomo, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture.
“This initiative highlights the Crawford Fund’s commitment to supporting Australia’s role in building agricultural capacity in the region, in fostering partnerships, and in sharing tools and knowledge that contribute to agricultural development collaborations,” concluded Geoff.
