Email this article 
Farming While Aging: Reasons and Strategies for Maintaining Family Farming in Parbotihan Village, North Sumatera
https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.84836 Firdaus Marbun(1*)
(1) Research Center for Population, National Research and Innovation Agency
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
One of the challenges for farming sustainability and food security into the future is the aging of farmers. The reluctance of youth to work in farming and their choice to migrate to urban areas has resulted in a scarcity of productive workers in rural areas. As a result, farming production relies on aging farmers. The implications of this condition not only have an impact on decreasing farming productivity but also to the family farming sustainability and threats of food security in future. Apart from the impact on decreased production, it is important to see how aging farmers overcome their limited capabilities by rely on farming as a source of their daily needs. This research aimed to explain the impact of migration of rural youth for family farming’s sustainability and what strategies that aging farmer carried out to maintain their farm when they become the main actors in farming. This research was conducted on rice farmers in the village of Parbotihan, North Sumatra using qualitative methods and data collection techniques through observation and in-depth interviews. The findings in this study are that the reluctance of rural youth to work in farming is influenced by society’s negative view of farming. This negative view encourages rural youth migrate to urban areas and leave their family farming for their parents who have limited capabilities yet still fulfil their needs. In the end, farmers made efforts to overcome their limitations in several ways, such as setting a more flexible planting schedule, choosing the type of crop, and maintaining the season once a year.
References
Adam, L., Jin, J., Khan, A., Hussain, J., & Sophia, T. T. (2021). A Study of the Adoption of Technology in Agriculture: Evidence from the Indonesian Paddy Rice Farmer. Cutting-Edge Research in Agricultural Sciences, 12.
Aldillah, R. (2016). Kinerja pemanfaatan mekanisasi pertanian dan implikasinya dalam upaya percepatan produksi pangan di Indonesia. Paper presented at the Forum Penelitian Agro Ekonomi.
Ando, M., & Horiguchi, K. (2013). Japanese agricultural competitiveness and migration. Migration Letters, 10(2), 144-158.
Bandiyono, S., & Indrawardani, K. F. (2016). Tinjauan migrasi penduduk desa-kota, urbanisasi dan dampaknya. Jurnal Kependudukan Indonesia, 5(1), 41-54.
Chiswell, H. M. (2018). From generation to generation: changing dimensions of intergenerational farm transfer. Sociologia Ruralis, 58(1), 104-125.
Conway, S. F., McDonagh, J., Farrell, M., & Kinsella, A. (2016). Cease agricultural activity forever? Underestimating the importance of symbolic capital. Journal of Rural Studies, 44, 164-176. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.01.016
Conway, S. F., McDONAGH, J., Farrell, M., & Kinsella, A. (2018). Till death do us part: Exploring the Irish farmer-farm relationship in later life through the lens of ‘Insideness’.
Davis, J., & Lopez-Carr, D. (2014). Migration, remittances and smallholder decision-making: Implications for land use and livelihood change in Central America. Land Use Policy, 36, 319-329.
Dillon, J. L., & Scandizzo, P. L. (1978). Risk attitudes of subsistence farmers in Northeast Brazil: A sampling approach. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 60(3), 425-435.
Fried, H. O., & Tauer, L. W. (2016). The aging US farmer: should we worry? Advances in Efficiency and Productivity, 391-407.
Gillespie, J., Nehring, R., Sandretto, C., & Hallahan, C. (2010). Forage outsourcing in the dairy sector: The extent of use and impact on farm profitability. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 39(3), 399-414.
Griffin, B., Hartarska, V., & Nadolnyak, D. A. (2019). Retirement age farmers’ exit and disinvestment from farming. Available at SSRN 3496239.
Gómez-Limón, J. A., Arriaza, M., & Riesgo, L. (2003). An MCDM analysis of agricultural risk aversion. European Journal of Operational Research, 151(3), 569-585.
Gunawan, E., Setiani, R., & Saptana. (2016). Fenomena Migrasi Tenaga Kerja Pertanian Dan dampaknya terhadap Pemberdayaan Petani di Propinsi Jawa Tengah. Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan, 24(2), 97-105.
Guo, G., Wen, Q., & Zhu, J. (2015). The Impact of Aging Agricultural Labor Population on Farmland Output: From the Perspective of Farmer Preferences. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2015, 730618. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/730618
Halliday, J. (1989). Attitudes towards farm diversification: results from a survey of Devon farms. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 40(1), 93-100.
Hayami, Y., & Ruttan, V. W. (1971). Agricultural development: an international perspective: Baltimore, Md/London: The Johns Hopkins Press.
Jansuwan, P., & Zander, K. K. (2021). What to do with the farmland? Coping with ageing in rural Thailand. Journal of Rural Studies, 81, 37-46.
Ji, Y., Yu, X., & Zhong, F. (2012). Machinery investment decision and off-farm employment in rural China. China Economic Review, 23(1), 71-80.
Maulida, Y. F., & Wati, R. I. (2022). The Succession Patterns of Agricultural Lands in the Special Region of Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. Journal of Population & Social Studies, 30.
Nugroho, A. D., Waluyati, L. R., & Jamhari. (2018). Upaya memikat generasi muda bekerja pada sektor pertanian di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. JPPUMA: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan dan Sosial Politik UMA (Journal of Governance and Political Social UMA), 6(1), 76-95.
Oktafiani, I., Sitohang, M. Y., & Saleh, R. (2021). Sulitnya regenerasi petani pada kelompok generasi muda. Jurnal Studi Pemuda, 10(1), 1-17.
Perez-Escamilla, R., Segall-Correa, A. M., Maranha, L. K., Sampaio, M. d. F. A., Marin-Leon, L., & Panigassi, G. (2004). Community and International Nutrition An Adapted Version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Insecurity Module Is a Valid Tool for Assessing Household Food Insecurity in Campinas, Brazil. American Society for Nutritional Sciences, 134, 5.
Pranadji, T., & Hardono, G. S. (2015). Dinamika Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Pertanian. Panel Petani Nasional: Mobilisasi Sumber Daya dan Penguatan Kelembagaan Pertanian, 209-221.
Prawesti, N., Witjaksono, R., & Raya, A. B. (2010). Motivasi anak petani menjadi petani. Agro Ekonomi, 17(1), 11-18.
Priyanto, A. (1997). Penerapan mekanisasi pertanian. Jurnal Keteknikan Pertanian, 11(1).
Poungchompu, S., Tsuneo, K., & Poungchompu, P. (2012). Aspects of the aging farming population and food security in agriculture for Thailand and Japan. International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, 3(1), 102–107.
Ravenstein, E. G. (1889). The laws of migration. Journal of the royal statistical society, 52(2), 241-305.
Ren, C., Zhou, X., Wang, C., Guo, Y., Diao, Y., Shen, S., ... & Gu, B. (2023). Ageing threatens sustainability of smallholder farming in China. Nature, 616(7955), 96-103.
Rigg, J., Phongsiri, M., Promphakping, B., Salamanca, A., & Sripun, M. (2020). Who will tend the farm? Interrogating the ageing Asian farmer. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 47(2), 306–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2019.1572605
Rigg, J., Salamanca, A., Phongsiri, M., & Sripun, M. (2018). More farmers, less farming? Understanding the truncated agrarian transition in Thailand. World Development, 107, 327-337.
Rogers, M., Barr, N., O’Callaghan, Z., Brumby, S., & Warburton, J. (2013). Healthy ageing: Farming into the twilight. Rural Society, 22(3), 251-262. doi:10.5172/rsj.2013.22.3.251
Ruiz Salvago, M., Phiboon, K., Faysse, N., & Nguyen, T. P. L. (2019). Young people’s willingness to farm under present and improved conditions in Thailand. Outlook on Agriculture, 48(4), 282-291.
Rusastra, I. W., & Suryadi, M. (2004). Ekonomi tenaga kerja pertanian dan implikasinya dalam peningkatan produksi dan kesejahteraan buruh tani. Jurnal Litbang Pertanian, 23(3), 91-99.
Saputra, A., Istiqomah, I., & Binardjo, G. (2022). WHAT ATTRACTS RURAL YOUTH TO FARMING? EVIDENCE FROM CENTRAL JAVA. Agrisocionomics: Jurnal Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian, 6(1), 23–32.
Seok, J. H., Moon, H., Kim, G., & Reed, M. R. (2018). Is aging the important factor for sustainable agricultural development in Korea? Evidence from the relationship between aging and farm technical efficiency. Sustainability, 10(7), 2137.
Setiani, S. Y., Pratiwi, T., & Fitrianto, A. R. (2021). Tenaga Muda Pertanian dan Ketahanan Pangan di Indonesia. CAKRAWALA, 15(2), 95-108.
Sinuraya, J. F., & Saptana. (2007). Migrasi Tenaga Kerja Pedesaan dan Pola Pemanfaatannya. SOCA: Jurnal Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian, 7(3), 44055.
Sumaryanto, H., Ariani, M., Suhartini, S., Yofa, R., & Azahari, D. (2015). Pengaruh urbanisasi terhadap suksesi sistem pengelolaan usaha tani dan implikasinya terhadap keberlanjutan swasembada pangan. Laporan Akhir Penelitian. Bogor (ID): Pusat Sosial Ekonomi dan Kebijakan Pertanian.
Sun, D., Rickaille, M., & Xu, Z. (2018). Determinants and impacts of outsourcing pest and disease management: Evidence from China’s rice production. China Agricultural Economic Review.
Susilowati, S. H. (2016). Fenomena penuaan petani dan berkurangnya tenaga kerja muda serta implikasinya bagi kebijakan pembangunan pertanian. Forum Penelitian Agro Ekonomi, 34(1), 35–55.
Suyanto, B. (2016). Kenapa Generasi muda enggan bertani? Memahami subkultur dan gaya hidup anak muda dari perspektif cultural studies. Bahan Pertemuan Upaya Meningkatkan Minat Generasi Muda Terhadap Pertanian.
Takakura, H. (2018). Local Agricultural Knowledge as Time Manipulation Paddy Field Farmers after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Asian Ethnology, 77(1/2), 257-284. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26604841
Tanaka, T., Camerer, C. F., & Nguyen, Q. (2010). Risk and time preferences: Linking experimental and household survey data from Vietnam. American economic review, 100(1), 557-571.
Tocco, B., Davidova, S., & Bailey, A. (2012). Key Issues in Agricultural Labour Markets: A Review of Major Studies and Project Reports on Agriculture and Rural Labour Markets. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 20, February 2012.
Tucker, B. (2012). Do Risk and Time Experimental Choices Represent Individual Strategies for Coping with Poverty or Conformity to Social Norms? Evidence from Rural Southwestern Madagascar. Current Anthropology, 53(2), 149-180. doi:10.1086/664569
White, B. (2012). Agriculture and the generation problem: rural youth, employment and the future of farming. ids Bulletin, 43(6), 9-19.
White, B. (2012). Indonesian rural youth transitions: Employment, mobility and the future of agriculture. Land, Livelihood, the Economy and the Environment in Indonesia, 243–263.
Wiyono, S. (2015). Laporan Kajian Regenerasi Petani. Koalisi Rakyat untu Kedaulatan Pangan dan Institut Pertanian Bogor, 22-28.
Wolf, C. A. (2003). Custom Dairy Heifer Grower Industry Characteristics and Contract Terms. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(9), 3016-3022. doi:https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73900-9
Yang, J., Huang, Z., Zhang, X., & Reardon, T. (2013). The rapid rise of cross-regional agricultural mechanization services in China. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 95(5), 1245-1251.
Yuniarti, D., & Sukarniati, L. (2021). Penuaan Petani dan Determinan Penambahan Tenaga Kerja di Sektor Pertanian. Agriekonomika, 10(1), 38-50.
Zou, B., Mishra, A. K., & Luo, B. (2018). Aging population, farm succession, and farmland usage: Evidence from rural China. Land Use Policy, 77, 437–445. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.001
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.84836
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 2
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Humaniora
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
