International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 6, No. 7; July 2018 ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com 1 Learning the Adoption of Mushroom Farming Partnership: A Case Study of Farmers and an Enterprise from Cianjur District, West Java, Indonesia Rendi Febrianda 1,3 , Hiromi Tokuda 2 1 Graduated School of Bioresources, Bioresources Faculty, Mie University, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, Japan 2 Bioresources Faculty, Mie University, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, Japan 3 Pappiptek – LIPI, Jakarta, Indonesia Correspondence: Rendi Febrianda, Graduated School of Bioresources, Bioresources Faculty, Mie University, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Received: May 8, 2018 Accepted: June 2, 2018 Available online: June 22, 2018 doi:10.11114/ijsss.v6i7.3263 URL: https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v6i7.3263 Abstract Mushroom farming is one of the profitable agribusiness especially for rural areas in developing countries. It can be adopted and applied as a sideline or main business. Through a partnership, farmers are indeed able to resolve their falter caused by production problems and market challenges. However, some questions emerge about the effectiveness of partnerships. Learning the adoption of the partnership specifically on mushroom farming can provide more understanding about its strengths and its weaknesses for further better use. This study aims to review the adoption process and the experience of an informal partnership case between a mushroom enterprise and farmers using qualitative and non-parametric quantitative approaches framed by Rogers’s innovation–decision process. The result shows that the partnership delivers ample benefits for the farmers and is recommended especially for rural society in certain conditions, though before and after the implementation, some issues were found, and suggestions are given for improvement. Keywords: mushroom farming, partnership, innovation, rural society 1. Introduction Edible mushrooms have been extensively consumed as nutritious foods which have a healthy impact on the human body (Cheung, 2010; Feeney, 2011). Edible mushrooms are valued for their high-quality protein, excellent unsaturated fatty acids, and high content of some vitamins. They are considered as low calorie foods, have anti-cancer properties, and are linked to the current concept of healthy diet (Kaldis & Kontogeorgakos, 2002; Marshall, 2009). These facts help to promote mushroom consumption over the world. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) confirmed that the world mushroom production reached above 10 billion kg in 2014 and 70.6% of that production is shared in Asia. Mushroom farming can become a propitious business and an attractive activity, especially for rural society as mushroom farming requires access to unspecific land and only a slight capital needed (Barmon et al., 2012). Mushroom farming has a great allure as it also does not depend on external climatic conditions, it possesses short growing times and easy use of technology. Economically, it can reduce poverty and strengthen the livelihoods through a quick yielding and a reliable source of income (Lelley, 1988; Marshall, 2009; Zhang et al., 2014). Despite mushroom farming is considered as an attractive agribusiness, the development seems stagnant and even in decline recently including in Indonesia (see Table 1). The world mushroom production was annually increased as it is influenced largely by China’s domination. Japan, as a developed country, was successful on mushroom farming. However, because of high labor cost, it was difficult for Japan to compete with China. On the contrary, other countries such as Indonesia, India, and Vietnam have a great potential for mushroom farming (Zhang et al., 2014). In Indonesia, referring to the statistical report of the national production of horticulture issued by the central government of Indonesia in 2014, mushroom production had reached 37,410 tonnes. Based on the report, among the 25 vegetable commodities, mushroom commodity ranked 22 nd and contributed 0.31% over all production of the commodities (Dirjen