The Rukun farmer group is the first organic farmer group formed in the Yogyakarta region. The Rukun farmer group started organic cultivation through local varieties of rice cultivation in 2006 and received organic certification in 2011 and 2015. The Rukun farmer group became a representative farmer group as a sample in this study in order to identify the issues of organic farming. The challenge faced by organic farmer groups at the moment was the limited support of both funding and managerial parties. This study aim was as one of the preliminary studies to further formulate policies and steps that must be taken to achieve the sustainability of organic farming in the future. The results of the research show that the main managerial aspects of recording were problems that need to be resolved. Farm records based on a web application was expected to be one of the solutions to the problem of managerial aspects. The research was essential as a baseline study to formulate strategic advice to create sustainable organic agriculture in Yogyakarta.

Organic farming system in Indonesia had been growing continuously in the recent years. Organic label could only be put on products which were complied with organic standards and regulations as well as certification requirements. As the world became more global, in addition to organic national certification, Indonesian organic farmers needed to comply with international organic certification so that they could enter the open market. This study attempted to: (1) provide a descriptive analysis of rice organic farmers’ characteristics in two locations of organic farming, (2) understand farmers’ knowledge and motivation on organic farming, and (3) analyse the gaps between farmers’ practice in organic farming and certification standard requirements. Results of the study showed that, basically, all farmers understood the concept of organic farmers. However, the farmers had not fully implemented the procedures as required in the Indonesian National Standard (SNI), let alone international organic certifications (IFOAM and USDA). There were several aspects that need to be improved in order to close the gaps between farmers’ practice in organic farming and certification standard requirements.

Information technology has developed rapidly, particularly in the area of social media. Almost all groups in society now use social media in their day to day activities, and one group that has been greatly impacted is young farmers. Before this era, farmers had difficulty accessing information. This study aims to find out what benefits are obtained and obstacles encountered by the use of social media in farming activities by the young farmers. This paper is descriptive explorative by using a qualitative approach. The data collection technique itself uses in-depth interviews, observations, literature studies, and documentation. The research location was in Bulukerto Village, Bumiaji Sub-District, Batu City which was carried out from November to December, 2017. The informants were chosen because they already used new media to support their farming activities. The result is the use of social media in the agricultural sector is widely used by young farmers in order to increase revenue and to seek information. Even so, there are still a number of problems faced by young farmers when utilizing social media, namely those interested in buying and selling online for agricultural products are not as high as other products and about the trust. The advice that can be given is farmers must post photos of products on Instagram with good pictures and caption. They also can tag others to reshare and spread the product information.

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