A new study from researchers at the University of Lampung reveals that land ownership plays a decisive role in determining whether smallholder coffee farmers adopt sustainable farming practices in Indonesia. The research, published in 2026 in the International Journal of Applied Research and Sustainable Sciences (IJARSS), found that farmers who own their land are significantly more likely to build trust-based social networks that encourage sustainable agriculture, while farmers who rent land rely mainly on community pressure and social norms to maintain environmentally responsible practices.
The study was conducted by Suprihatin Ali, Christine Wulandari, Pitojo Budiono, Teguh Endaryanto, and Tugiyono from the University of Lampung, one of Indonesia’s leading institutions in agricultural and environmental research. Their findings are especially important for Indonesia’s coffee industry because Lampung Province is one of the country’s largest Robusta coffee-producing regions and a critical supplier in the global coffee market.
Indonesia is currently facing growing international pressure to improve sustainability standards in agriculture. Global coffee buyers increasingly demand environmentally responsible production systems that protect forests, preserve biodiversity, and support farmer welfare. Lampung’s coffee sector has become central to that conversation because decades of forest conversion, land-use change, and agricultural expansion have created ecological pressure across the region.
Against this backdrop, sustainable coffee farming practices such as agroforestry, organic fertilization, soil conservation, and integrated farming systems have gained attention as practical solutions. However, adoption among smallholder farmers remains uneven. The University of Lampung researchers found that social relationships and land tenure security are major factors explaining why some farmers embrace sustainable methods while others struggle to do so.
The research involved 70 smallholder Robusta coffee farmers from coffee-producing areas in West Lampung, Tanggamus, and North Lampung. The sample was divided equally between 35 owner-cultivators and 35 renting farmers. Researchers collected data through face-to-face interviews conducted between June and September 2025 using structured questionnaires in Bahasa Indonesia.
To simplify the analysis, the researchers focused on three dimensions of social capital:
- Social networks — relationships with farmer groups, cooperatives, buyers, and agricultural extension officers
- Social trust — confidence in fellow farmers, institutions, cooperatives, and buyers
- Social norms — shared community expectations and informal rules regarding sustainable farming behavior
The study found a major difference between landowners and renters in how these social factors influence sustainable farming.
Among farmers who own their land, social trust emerged as the strongest driver of sustainable behavior. Farmers with secure land ownership were more willing to invest in long-term practices such as agroforestry, soil conservation, waste management, and environmentally friendly production systems because they believed those investments would generate future benefits.
The data also showed that social networks played a significant role for landowners. Farmers who actively participated in cooperatives and farmer groups gained better access to market information, agricultural knowledge, and technical support for sustainable farming practices.
In contrast, the situation was very different for farmers renting land. For this group, neither social trust nor social networking had a meaningful impact on sustainability practices. Instead, social norms became the primary influence. Renting farmers tended to adopt sustainable practices mainly because of community expectations and group rules rather than long-term investment planning.
The researchers argue that insecure land tenure shortens farmers’ planning horizons. Without certainty over future access to land, renters are less likely to invest in costly or long-term sustainability measures such as shade-tree planting or advanced soil conservation systems.
The study also identified a clear economic gap between landowners and renters. Renting farmers were more concentrated in lower production and lower income categories. More than 42 percent of renters produced less than 500 kilograms of coffee annually, while over half earned less than IDR 10 million per year from coffee farming. Landowners generally reported higher production levels and higher annual income.
One of the most important findings involved the overall explanatory power of social capital. The study found that social capital explained 78.9 percent of sustainable farming behavior among landowners, compared with only 55.6 percent among renters.
According to the University of Lampung researchers, this demonstrates that secure land ownership strengthens the effectiveness of trust and social cooperation in promoting sustainability.
The authors wrote that “the mechanisms through which social capital translates into sustainable farming behaviour are fundamentally tenure-contingent.” In practical terms, this means sustainability among landowners is driven by trust and active networking, while sustainability among renters depends more heavily on compliance with community norms.
The findings carry important implications for policymakers, agricultural institutions, and the Indonesian coffee industry.
First, the research suggests that land certification programs could significantly improve sustainable agriculture because secure land ownership encourages long-term environmental investment. Second, cooperative development programs should be designed differently for landowners and renters. Trust-building initiatives may work better for landowners, while community-based regulations and collective monitoring systems may be more effective for renters.
The study also supports calls for integrating agrarian reform with sustainability policy. Researchers argue that strengthening both land tenure security and farmer cooperatives could accelerate Indonesia’s transition toward environmentally sustainable coffee production.
For the global coffee industry, the findings offer new insight into how social and economic structures influence sustainability at the farm level. International buyers increasingly seek traceable and sustainable coffee supply chains, and understanding how land ownership affects farmer behavior may help improve future certification and sustainability programs.
Beyond policy relevance, the research contributes to broader discussions about rural development and environmental governance in Southeast Asia. Much of the previous research on land tenure and sustainability has focused on Africa, but this study provides new evidence from Indonesia’s smallholder coffee sector.
Author Profile
Suprihatin Ali is a researcher and academic at the University of Lampung specializing in rural development, social capital, and sustainable agriculture. The study was co-authored by Christine Wulandari, Pitojo Budiono, Teguh Endaryanto, and Tugiyono, all affiliated with the University of Lampung and working in fields related to forestry, agricultural economics, environmental sustainability, and rural policy development.
Source
Ali, Suprihatin, Christine Wulandari, Pitojo Budiono, Teguh Endaryanto, and Tugiyono. “Land Ownership and Sustainable Coffee Farming Practices Through the Lens of Social Capital: Quantitative Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in Lampung, Indonesia.” International Journal of Applied Research and Sustainable Sciences (IJARSS), Vol. 4 No. 4, 2026, pp. 413–432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijarss.v4i4.249
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