DETERMINANTS OF SUSTAINABLE VEGETABLE FARMING AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN BOGOR REGENCY

The agricultural sector plays a significant role in the Indonesian economy and local’s livelihood. One of the major stakeholders in agriculture is the smallholder farm sector. Large number of these smallholder farmers (SHF) produces vegetables for commercial and subsistence purposes but they have limited access to agriculture resources including labor, technology and other inputs. The purpose of this study is to identify socio-economic characteristics, agricultural farming practices and environmental variables influencing smallholder’s sustainable vegetable production in the villages of Situdaun and Cinangneng located in the sub-district of Tinjolaya, Bogor regency, West Jawa. The study uses descriptive and ordinal logistic regression analysis. Drawing on a sample of 96 households, the study shows that sustainable production of vegetables is mainly affected by the low quality of agriculture inputs, excessive rainfalls and lack of financial resources. The findings in the paper reveal that, based on the output from logistic regression; crop rotation, agriculture training, member of a farmer’s group and land size are the significant variables influencing SHF production. Crop rotation and agriculture training are dominant variables that positively influenced SHF. Member of a farmer’s group and land size negatively influenced SHF vegetable production. The study also established that by providing institutional requirement such as infrastructure improvement, subsidized fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, soft loans and other necessary services for vegetable farming to ensure constant and sustainable production. Given the dominance of smallholder sector in the economy, the effective utilization of these resources will hinge on the implementation of a set of policies that would allow smallholders to seek greater specialization and improve their produce.