10 pages, 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.
11 pages, This research aims to examine the relation between farmer organization and welfare using Propensity Score Matching approach. Numerous prior studies have demonstrated that farmers’ involvement in a producer group significantly affects their income levels, efficiency rates, and the adoption of cutting-edge agricultural technologies. However, there have been few studies on salt farming in Madura Island, despite its status as a primary salt producer in Indonesia. This study focused on examining how the participation of salt farmers in farmer groups, specifically known as the “Traditional Salt Business Group” (or Kelompok Usaha Garam Rakyat [KUGAR] in Indonesian), impacts their agricultural income. In this study, the researchers examined primary data collected through interviews with 115 traditional salt farmers on Madura Island, East Java, Indonesia. Logistic regression analysis revealed three independent variables affecting the decisions of salt farmers, specifically farmer’s latest level of education, salt production in the last season, and the number of their family members. Then, employing a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach, the study showed a significant income disparity between salt farmers who were KUGAR members and those who are not. Moreover, the level of education emerged as a key determinant influencing salt farmers’ decisions to join KUGAR. Furthermore, the Indonesian government could intervene by encouraging younger salt farmers to join the producer groups to realize benefits, including improvements in the well-being of salt farmers.
