Respondent characteristics
The characteristics of the sampled farmers in this study can be observed in the following Table 1. According to Table 1, the total number of coffee farmers used as responders is 173. Of the total number of responders, 56 have joined farmer groups, while the remaining 117 have not. This indicates that there is still low participation of coffee farmers in farmer groups. Farmers do not join farmer groups for a variety of reasons, including occasional counseling, duties to pay contributions and monthly savings and loans, according to
Lumban Gaol (2022).
Factors influencing coffee farmers’ decisions to join farmer groups
A logit model is used to investigate the factors that influence farmers to join farmer groups. The dependent variable in the logit model is in the form of binary or dummy categories, with a value of 1 allocated to coffee growers who joined farmer groups and a value of 0 assigned to those who did not. Farmers’ age (X1), gender (X2), education (X3), number of dependents (X4), production (X5), land size (X6), number of laborers (X7), farmer’s experience (X8) and credit access (X9) are among the independent variables. The data is subsequently processed with the SPSS program.
From Table 2, it can be seen that the Nagelkerke R Square value is 0.638, which means that the ability of the independent variables to explain the dependent variable is 63.8%, the remaining 36.2% are other factors not included in the model that explain the dependent variable. An overall model test or omnibus testing of model coefficients are used to investigate the simultaneous influence of independent factors on the dependent variable. According to the Table 3, the value of sig <0.05 (0.00<0.05) indicates that independent factors have a simultaneous effect on the dependent variable.
Meanwhile, to see the effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable, a partial/wald test was conducted. Table 4 shows the estimation results for determining if independent factors influence coffee growers’ decision to join farmer groups using the partial/Wald test with a significance threshold of 5%. At the 5% significance level, 5 of the 9 independent factors included in the model significantly impact coffee producers’ decision to join farmer groups. Farmers’ age (X1), education (X3), production (X5), land size (X6) and land size (X7) are the independent variables that strongly influence their decision to join farmer groups. Because they have a Sig. (P-value) of 0.05, these five independent factors have a significant impact on farmers’ decision to join farmer groups.
Meanwhile, a goodness of fit test is used to determine whether a model is acceptable or fits well
(Syofyan and Herawaty, 2019). The findings of the goodness of fit test done with the Hosmer and Lemeshow test. Table 5 shows that the Chi-square value is 9.064 with a significance of 0.337. The goodness of fit test results in a significance level greater than the alpha level (α) of 0.05 (0.337 > 0.05). This means that the model is acceptable and can be used.
Farmers’ age
The variable “age of farmers” has an Exp(B)/Odds Ratio of 1.083 with a positive regression coefficient, indicating that increasing farmers’ age increases their likelihood of joining farmer groups by 1.083 times. These findings suggest that farmer age has a beneficial effect on farmer group membership. This finding is consistent with study by
Mbagwu (2018),
Gashaw and Kibret (2018),
Adong et al., (2012) and
Safitri et al., (2020), which found that farmers’ age has a beneficial impact on their decision to join farmer groups. Farmers tend to join farmer groups as they get older in order to secure their requirements in farming, marketing and increasing agricultural production. Furthermore, older farmers are more likely to recognize the value and necessity of agricultural organizations such as farmer groups.
Education
The variable “duration of education” has an Exp(B)/Odds ratio of 1.321 with a positive regression coefficient, showing that the longer coffee farmers’ education, the more likely they are to join farmer groups in the Sumber Wringin District. These findings suggest that the length of education has a beneficial effect on coffee producers’ membership in farmer groups. This finding is similar with
Mawarni and Feryanto’s (2023) research, which found that the length of education had a significant beneficial effect on farmers’ decision to join groups (cooperatives/farmer groups). Farmers with a higher level of education are more aware of the value of joining farmer groups
(Pakpahan, 2017).
Production
The variable “production quantity” has a positive regression coefficient and an Exp(B)/Odds Ratio of 1.001. This means that increasing the quantity of coffee produced by farmers in the Sumber Wringin District increases the likelihood of coffee producers joining farmer groups by 1.001 times. These findings indicate that the quantity of coffee produced has a favorable effect on the membership of coffee growers in farmer groups. This finding is consistent with the findings of
Jati et al., (2022) and
Ogunlade et al., (2016), who found that turnover had a major influence on farmers’ decisions to join farmer groups. Farmers’ revenue will be affected by an increase in production quantity. Furthermore, according to field studies, farmers with substantial production numbers prefer to join farmer groups to expedite the marketing process.
Land size
The variable “land size” has a negative regression coefficient and an Exp(B)/Odds Ratio of 0.113. This means that coffee farmers with lower land holdings are 0.113 times more likely to join farmer groups. Despite having a negative coefficient value, the land size variable is considered significant due to its Sig. value of 0.05 (0.00 0.05). The findings of this study are congruent with the findings of
Mawarni and Feryanto’s (2023) study, which found that land size had a substantial influence on farmers’ decisions to join farmer groups. However, the land size variable had a beneficial influence in that study. Small-land farmers have limited access to finance and financial resources. Joining farmer groups can increase their access to resources and money, hence increasing agricultural production. Farmers with small land holdings can also benefit from information exchange and shared learning by joining farmer groups.
Number of laborers
The variable “number of laborers” has a positive regression coefficient and an Exp(B)/Odds ratio of 1.235. This means that coffee growers with more laborers in Sumber Wringin District are 1.235 times more likely to join farmer groups than farmers with fewer laborers. Farmers with a greater labor force tend to operate on a larger scale. Farmer groups frequently have considerable production needs and by joining a collective, farmers with an appropriate work force can meet those needs more efficiently.
Gender
The variable “gender” had no substantial influence on coffee producers’ decision to join farmer groups. This is due to the gender variable’s Sig. value being more than 0.05 (0.723>0.05). The findings of this study agree with those of
Mawarni and Feryanto (2023) and
Ogunlade et al., (2016), who found that gender has no effect on farmers’ decisions to join farmer groups.
Number of dependents and experience
The variables “number of dependents” and “experience” had little effect on farmers’ decision to join farmer groups in Sumber Wringin District. This is because the Sig. value of the number of dependents variable> 0.05 (0.969> 0.05). The findings of this study are consistent with those of
Debeb and Haile (2016), who found that the number of family dependents has no significant impact on farmers’ decision to join farmer groups. Farmers’ varying “experience” has no substantial influence on their decision to join farmer groups in Sumber Wringin District. This is due to the fact that the Sig. value for the experience variable is more than 0.05 (0.898>0.05). This is consistent with the findings of
Ogunlade et al., (2016) and
Balgah (2018), who found that farmers’ experience has no substantial influence on their decision to join farmer groups.
Credit access
The variable “credit access” has no effect on farmers’ decision to join farmer groups. This is because the Sig. value for the credit access variable is greater than 0.05 (0.424 greater than 0.05). This study supports the findings of
Balgah (2018), who found that the ease with which farmers can obtain loans has no substantial impact on their decision to join farmer groups. This contradicts the findings of
Abdul-Rahaman and Abdulai (2020), who contend that joining farmer groups improves farmers’ access to financing. The study discovered that even if coffee producers in Bondowoso do not join farmer cooperatives, they do not have difficulty acquiring loans. The fact that credit-giving banks do not need farmers to join farmer groups bolsters his case. So this is what makes coffee farmers unaffected by joining or not with farmer groups will still get easy access to credit and can continue farming through capital from existing credit institutions both formal and informal credit sources.
Ullah et al., (2020) discovered that asset-rich farmers with more farming experience and better information access rely on banks more than input providers and informal finance sources. Microfinance institutions, according to
Ouattara et al., (2020), are a crucial factor of small farmer success and farmers with easy access to financing have an impact on production
(Kehinde and Ogundeji, 2022;
Nordjo and Adjasi, 2019).