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Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) - Call for papers!

Determinants of Smallholders' Participation in a Nucleus Estate Project, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia

(Indonesia), Master of Science in Community Development (University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Thesis Abstract:

 

The study examined the relationships between socioeconomic factors (e.g., age, educational attainment, number of adult family members, distance between smallholders' house and activity locations, plantation work experience, aspiration, income), physiological factors (e.g., motivation and perception of smallholders toward Nucleus Estate and Smallholders' Project (NESP) services), and participation.

Respondents were the NESP beneficiaries, consisting of 125 plantation farmers called smallholders. Data were gathered through interviews. The respondents were selected using a two-stage random sampling procedure. Measures of central tendency were used to analyze and interpret the data, while Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the existence of association among the variables.

Most of the smallholders were 31-45 years old. The majority of them were married, had 4-6 years of formal education, and had, at most, three adult family members. The distance between their houses and activity locations was generally 1-3 km. They had less than one year of experience in plantation work. Their principal aspirations were to have a bright future and high level of education for their children, to participate in community development, and to increase their income. Moreover, they considered their family income as " high." Their motivation and their perception toward NESP's services were also high.

An analysis of the relationship between socioeconomic factors and their participation showed that age, educational attainment, number of adult family members, and income were positively and significantly associated with smallholders' participation in NESP. The relationship between psychological factor and the respondents' participation was also positively and significantly associated.