Behavioral Analysis of Maintaining Environmental Sustainability by Rice Farmers in Maluku

This study aimed to analyze the farmer’s behavior in managing lowland rice farming, particularly the use of fertilizers and pesticides associated with environmental sustainability. The research was conducted in Waimital Village, Kairatu District, West Seram Regency, Maluku Province as one of the rice-producing centers in Maluku. The population was all rice farmers actively growing rice, namely 500 farmers. The sample was determined at 10 percent of the population selected by simple random. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, data was collected through direct interviews with respondents and other related parties by implementing health protocols. Primary data includes the characteristics of respondents (age, level of formal education, and experience of farming in lowland rice), knowledge, attitudes, and skills of farmers about preserving the environment. Secondary data includes supporting data from various sources, including the library and the Waimital Village office. The results showed that farmers in Waimital Village had the potential to develop into farmers who care about the environment because they were in productive age (dominantly 33-43 years), and experience in farming lowland rice was quite good (16-28 years). Dominant farmers knew about environmental sustainability, but did not understand how to preserve the environment; most farmers did not agree to control, including limiting the use of fertilizers and other chemicals for fear of reducing the productivity of lowland rice fields. The skill of farmers in preserving the environment, only doing habits and not trying to make changes according to the conditions.