Land Ownership and Sustainable Coffee Farming Practices Through the Lens of Social Capital: Quantitative Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in Lampung, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijarss.v4i4.249Keywords:
Land Ownership, Social Capital, Sustainable Agriculture, Coffee Farming, LampungAbstract
This study examines how land ownership status conditions the effects of social capital on farmers' sustainable behaviour in coffee production in Lampung, Indonesia. Drawing on Social Capital Theory, the research tests the influence of social network, social trust, and social norms on sustainable behaviour, and compares these effects across two tenure groups. A multi-group PLS-SEM analysis was conducted on 70 smallholder coffee farmers, equally divided between owner-cultivators and renting farmers. Results show that social trust is the dominant driver of sustainable behaviour among owners, while social norms are the only meaningful driver among renters. The model explains 78.9 percent of variance in sustainable behaviour for owners but only 55.6 percent for renters. Findings imply that integrating land certification with trust-based cooperative development is critical for accelerating sustainable transitions in Indonesian coffee landscapes.
References
Addis, E. M., Amera, M. M., & Biru, G. B. (2020). Land certification and farmers' decision on long term investment in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management, 8(1), 2473–2480. https://doi.org/10.15243/jdmlm.2020.081.2473
Asaaga, F. A., Hirons, M. A., & Malhi, Y. (2020). Questioning the link between tenure security and sustainable land management in cocoa landscapes in Ghana. World Development, 130, 104913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104913
Azzahro, A., Baihaqi, I., Hanoum, S., & Khalid, R. (2025). Does certification ownership foster sustainability in Indonesia's coffee industry? An empirical investigation. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 542, 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-xxxxx
Besley, T. (1995). Property rights and investment incentives: Theory and evidence from Ghana. Journal of Political Economy, 103(5), 903–937. https://doi.org/10.1086/262008
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120. https://doi.org/10.1086/228943
Fitriani, F., Arifin, B., Zakaria, W. A., & Ismono, R. H. (2018). Coffee agroforestry for sustainability of Upper Sekampung Watershed management. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 141(1), 012001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/141/1/012001
Gedefaw, A. A., Atzberger, C., Seher, W., & Mansberger, R. (2020). Effects of land certification for rural farm households in Ethiopia: Evidence from Gozamin District, Ethiopia. Land, 9(11), 421. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9110421
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0382
Imron, D. K., & Satrya, A. R. A. (2019). Women and coffee farming: Collective consciousness towards social entrepreneurship in Ulubelu, Lampung. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 23(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.43616
Mkandawire, N. D., Mangisoni, J., Pangapanga, I., & Machila, K. (2025). Assessing the impact of land tenure security on farm-level investment in soil and water conservation practices: Evidence from smallholder farmers in Malawi. Land Use Policy, 148, 107412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107412
Mutiani, C., Febriamansyah, R., & Mahdi. (2021). Agroforestry management practices in relation to tenure security in Koto Tangah Subdistrict, West Sumatra, Indonesia. In Natural Resource Governance in Asia: From Collective Action to Resilience Thinking (pp. 211–228). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85729-1.00012-3
Mutolib, A., Nuraini, C., Helbawanti, O., & Rahmat, A. (2023). Knowledge and practice of sustainable land management of coffee agroforestry in community forest areas, West Lampung Regency. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1267(1), 012050. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1267/1/012050
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242–266. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.533225
Napsiah, Muryanti, & Wijanti, Y. T. (2024). Inequality as a construct of customary law: Access to home ownership rights of women in Lampung. El-Usrah, 7(1), 88–105. https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v7i1.xxxxx
Novanda, R. R., Anggraini, S., & Putri, E. L. (2026). A socio-entrepreneurship empowerment model for coffee farmers to sustain soil fertility practices. International Journal of Agricultural Technology, 22(1), 105–122.
Nurlia, A., Martin, E., Kaskoyo, H., & Ulya, N. A. (2024). Symbiosis in the canopy: Unraveling the evolution and impact of social forestry in Lampung, Indonesia. International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, 19(2), 487–498. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijdne.190218
Olumba, C. N., & Olumba, C. C. (2025). Enhancing the adoption intensity of sustainable land management practices in Southeast Nigeria: The role of education and mediating factors of trust and belief. Sustainable Development, 33(2), 1124–1140. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3158
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807763
Prasmatiwi, F. E., Endaryanto, T., Seta, A. P., & Astuti, T. N. (2025). Implementation of agroforestry system for improved performance and sustainability of coffee farming in West Lampung Regency, Indonesia. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, 9(3), 1102–1115. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v9i3.5985
Pretty, J., & Ward, H. (2001). Social capital and the environment. World Development, 29(2), 209–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00098-X
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.
Suyanto, S., Pandu Permana, R., Khususiyah, N., & Joshi, L. (2005). Land tenure, agroforestry adoption, and reduction of fire hazard in a forest zone: A case study from Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia. Agroforestry Systems, 65(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-004-1413-1
Syam, T., Salam, A. K., Utomo, M., & Kimura, M. (1997). Land use and cover changes in a hilly area of South Sumatra, Indonesia (from 1970 to 1990). Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 43(3), 587–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.1997.10414786
Tesfaye, B., Lengoiboni, M., Zevenbergen, J., & Simane, B. (2023). Rethinking the impact of land certification on tenure security, land disputes, land management, and agricultural production: Insights from South Wello, Ethiopia. Land, 12(9), 1645. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091645
Wardani, N., Meidaliyantisyah, Hendra, J., & Rivaie, A. A. (2021). Improvement of robusta coffee performance with conservation and fertilizer treatment in Air Naningan District, Tanggamus Regency, Lampung. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 653(1), 012109. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/653/1/012109
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Suprihatin Ali, Christine Wulandari, Teguh Endaryanto, Pitojo Budiono

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
















