Willingness to preserve natural farming systems of food sources variety in Morotai Island border areas

The difficulty to obtain cheap and affordable healthy food phenomenon has an impact on life quality of human generation. It caused poor nutrition and so attracted various parties concerning, thus, various researches have been done. The study objective is to assess the willingness to preserve wisdom, managing a natural farming system as a natural local food source through available potential and owned farmers. The expected study achievement is the willingness to preserve the natural farming system as a natural food source. The descriptive analysis method with a weighted average formula was adapted using the basic concept of willingness to preserve in natural farmers of Morotai Island paddy fields farming. The results concluded that there is wisdom in managing the natural farming system of natural rice in various fields as a local food natural source on Morotai Island, North Maluku, Indonesia. Farmers tended to maximize internally and minimize external inputs that characterize all farming movements so that their wisdom concept has been maintained to this day. The natural farming system wisdom, as a technological model in managing field rice as a natural local food source, produced a variety food sources like natural rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, various banana varieties, various types and sources of sago flour, vegetables, and processed marine protein sources and also consumed with various patterns without synthetic chemistry from input-process-output stage. Moreover, it concluded that Morotai Island border region farmers are willing to preserve natural farming system in paddy fields based on natural farming principles including permanent natural land without synthetic chemicals, in farming continue to choose natural seeds to use without genetic engineering, natural food sources for safe food consumption availability throughout time, and straw, as an input of natural material to restore land fertility level naturally. Therefore, the natural farming system is a natural food source, which ensures the input, process, and output are safe consumption of synthetic chemical-free economic and cultural values that cannot be found in any agricultural system. © 2019, Asian Association for Agricultural Engineering. All rights reserved.