Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development

Analysis of the welfare gap among smallholder palm oil farmers in two scheme farming management: A case study in Lampung province, Indonesia

Dyah Aring Hepiana Lestari — 2025-01-20

This paper aims to analyze the level of welfare of palm oil farmers and the factors that influence it. The research design employs a survey method. Indonesia smallholder palm oil farmers face complex welfare issues. The study employed a survey-based research design. Farmer’s sampling involved 594 palm oil farmers. Quantitative methodology with an ordinal logit regression model is applied to determine the welfare factors. The welfare analysis is carried out by household expenditure approach. The findings reveal the fact that the majority of smallholder palm oil farmers, whether with independent or partnership patterns, are prosperous. The independent pattern has a higher chance of improving welfare. The household prosperity is determined by the variables age, education, number of family members, land cultivated, palm oil income, household income, and cultivation patterns. The direct connection between farmers and the palm oil industry supply chain in the form of cooperation patterns and factory supply guarantees is a basic prerequisite in ensuring improvements in the level of farmers’ income. The practical implication recommends that strengthening farmers in the upstream production line is a precondition in developing the Indonesian sustainable palm oil industry. The synergy among stakeholders in the fair business value chain framework should start from strengthening farmers in the upstream production line.

Determinants of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by small-scale coffee farmers in amazonas, Peru

Francisco Guevara-Fernandez — 2025-01-20

This study seeks to examine the factors affecting the adoption of SAPs and their intensity of use at the smallholder household level in four coffee producer districts of Luya, Amazonas, Peru, based on cross-sectional survey data obtained from 145 sampled households, six coffee farmer interviews, and three expert interviews. Despite the benefits of Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs), their use rate among small-scale farmers is still low in developing countries like Peru. The results showed that coffee farmers adopted different SAPs according to several factors that determine their adoption; those factors can be farm(er)-related, sustainable practices’ attributes, and communication and extension. Moreover, drawing on the logistic regression technique (logit), the marginal effects of the critical factors that significantly determine the adoption of SAPs were obtained. The logit results evidenced that coffee farmers' decision to adopt SAPs was influenced by the number of people of working age living in the household for cover crop and composting, farmland slope for living or dead barriers, coffee yield and educational attainment for fertilization, and number of assets and facilitating conditions for wastewater treatment. The main problems are the lack of workers for integrated pest management, the focus on making money on farms for agroforestry, and people’s fears about taking risks with cover crops. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and development practitioners aiming to foster sustainable farming practices in similar contexts.

Productivity of corn (Zea mays) under varying drought duration and nitrogen application at La, Trinidad, Benguet

J P Pablo — 2025-02-13

This study investigates the impact of varying durations of drought and different nitrogen application strategies on corn. The study employed a Split Plot Design with three replications. Main plots (levels and timing of nitrogen) included NO FERT (no fertilizer), RR+OA (recommended rate at one-time application), RR+SA (split application), RR+50N+OA (50% nitrogen), and RR+50N+SA. Subplots tested drought durations of 10, 15, and 20 days (DD). Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, and treatment mean differences were assessed using LSD at the 5% significance level. Significant (P < 0.05) effects of fertilizer were observed on leaf area (LA), total number of kernel rows per ear (TNE), and chlorophyll content (CC). Drought significantly affected plant height (PH), LA, root weight (RW), ear length (EL), ear weight (EW), total number of kernels per row (TKR), TNE, total weight of corn ears (TWE), CC, drought score (DS), and recovery rate (RR). No significant differences were found in the interaction of drought and fertilizer, except for root weight. Subjecting plants to longer drought durations showed more negative effects on productivity. The recommended rate plus 50% of nitrogen at one-time application, along with the recommended rate and split application, are the best levels and timing of application when exposed to drought during the vegetative stage.

The dynamic impact of government agricultural expenditure on the agricultural value added in ASEAN-5 countries

Jirawat Jaroensathapornkul — 2025-02-19

This study aims to investigate the long-run and short-run impacts of government agricultural expenditure on agricultural value added in ASEAN-5 countries. It employs the Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) unit root test to ensure data stationarity and the Johansen cointegration and Error Correction Model (ECM) to determine the long-run and short-run relationships, respectively. The findings indicate that, after adjusting the data to first or second differences, they are stationary with statistical significance. Based on the Johansen cointegration test, the trace test indicates that government agricultural expenditures have a long-run impact on agricultural value added in ASEAN-5 countries. Additionally, the estimated parameters of the error correction terms suggest that we can correct the disequilibrium in the short-run impacts. The estimation results of the ECM also show that government agricultural expenditure positively affects agricultural value added under different time-lag conditions. The study concludes that the government has played a significant role in enhancing agricultural value added in ASEAN-5 countries up to the present. As government spending is a part of fiscal policy, it is suggested that the government’s agricultural budget be used more efficiently. This will help implement fiscal policy and boost economic growth in the short term.

Challenges in the development of cooperative-based closed-loop refined palm oil agribusiness in Indonesia

Luhut Sihombing — 2025-02-19

There are marginal issues faced by independent palm oil farmers at the farm gate level and distortions in the downstream market, prompting the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) of Indonesia, the Palm Oil Fund Management Agency, and PTPN Group to pilot a program for downstreaming independent oil palms through cooperatives. The refined palm oil (RPO) program processes crude palm oil (CPO) using fractionation and soft refining without bleaching and deodorization. Its goal is to stabilize fresh fruit bunch (FFB) prices and provide affordable cooking oil alternatives. The government supports this initiative through regulations, constructing RPO plants, and allocating them to cooperatives.This study seeks to assess the planning, closed-loop RPO agribusiness development, and requisite strategies for its success. Using methods like Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for qualitative research shows that for the program to work at its best, separate palm oil crops must be used to match the capacities of RPO plants. Furthermore, government subsidies are crucial because of the elevated manufacturing costs of RPO relative to CPO. Moreover, continuous branding initiatives by the government and cooperatives are essential to improve public acceptance and commercial visibility. Some of the strategies that could be used to support the success of the program include building and granting oil palm processing (OPP) plants to cooperate for independence; certification of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) on all independent palm oil plantations; and application of more efficient processing technology technically and economically so that the product could compete with other commercial palm oil products.