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The purpose of this paper is to analyse factors that determine farmers’ intention to commercialise vegetable-based agribusiness ventures in rural areas and assess the effect of commercialisation on farmers’ income.

The study used a regression approach. Market participation and farmers’ income were hypothesised to be dependent on other external factors. This study employed data compiled from a quantitative survey of 357 farm households located in four major vegetable producing regions of rural East Java and Bali, Indonesia.

Results indicate that household attributes, business environment, supporting facilities and farm characteristics determined farmers to commercialise vegetable farming. Access to credit, seed technology and farm site played high contribution to the market participation. Ultimately, commercial vegetable farming provides an economic advantage regarding increased income. Land fragmentation and status of landholding were identified to influence the net revenue of vegetable farming.

This study has a limitation concerning the number of samples and the availability of data and information. The number of samples is 357 which is about 4 per cent of the total population.

Establishment of vegetable agribusiness terminals with all market infrastructures, adequate access to market information, credit and human capital investment through training and extension services are also required, will boost market participation. Re-structuring land ownership might be the best step to augment farmers’ income, through consolidation of fragmented fertile lands devoted to intensive vegetable farming.

This study was purposely conducted in rural areas where there were subsistence farmers, as this is to improve farmers’ income by commercialising vegetable crops. A novel feature of this finding is the role of access to credit in the commercialisation of vegetable farming and the impact of landholding status on the profitability of intensive farming of high-valued vegetables.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the environmental performance of intensive farming and estimate agrochemical waste in physical and monetary terms. The intensive farming provides adverse impacts including health and environmental quality associated with the use of agrochemicals.

This study uses a theory of environmental efficiency that measures how efficient the farm uses agrochemical inputs. The efficiency was estimated using a set of farm-level data of intensive farming that use agrochemicals. Data were compiled from a survey of randomly selected 240 farmers who operated intensive farming in three regions of Java in 2014.

The results show that the performance of intensive farming was low. This condition caused agrochemical waste leading to the externality. Taking the external costs into account resulted in the improvement in efficiency of agrochemicals. The actual level of agrochemicals was about a hundred times higher than the most efficient level.

This study is beyond the exogenous external costs. There is a need for a further comprehensive study to include more exogenous external costs associated with agrochemicals to have the potential value of such costs and the most socially efficient use of agrochemicals. The long-term effects of external cost to the environment and socio-economic livelihood of the farmers and other communities are considerable. Advocating for alternatives to decrease the use of detrimental agro-inputs, in the long run, will provide sound quality of the environment. Socially, both producers and consumers get the environmental and health benefits.

To reduce the agrochemical waste that caused environmental problems, a policy should be formulated to make farming more efficient, particularly for agrochemical use. It can be done by introducing agronomic technologies and enhancing farmers’ knowledge on environmentally friendly agriculture.

Environmental efficiency is able to estimate the quantity of agrochemical waste. The waste is a kind of non-point source pollution whose source and quantity are very difficult to identify and measure. As there are many definitions and measurement of environmental performance, this concept of environmental efficiency can be one of the alternatives.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of microcredit and agronomic technology on farm households’ prosperity, and to determine important factors affecting farmers’ access to microcredit and technology adoption in Indonesian intensive farming.

The focus of the study was farmers engaging with chili-based agribusiness in rural areas. Data for this study were compiled from a survey that interviewed 250 farm households. Samples of the study were randomly selected from chili farming community in three regions of Java during 2013–2014. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Microcredit provided positive direct and indirect impacts on household prosperity. Microcredit indirectly impacted the well-being through the mediation of technology adoption. Farmers’ characteristics and agribusiness environment determined farmers’ decision to access microcredit and adopt advanced technology. Microcredit and technology have enhanced farmers’ well-being through pathways that enabled farmers to develop farming scale.

The government should offer more alternatives to advanced technology and flexible procedures of access to credit at the same time to ensure sustained pathways of rural economic growth in Indonesia.

This paper applied a SEM to a proposition of simultaneous causal interrelations among microcredit, technology and farmers’ prosperity.

This paper aims to analyse a simultaneous role of micro-credit in intensive farming to improve rural prosperity and to determine factors affecting farmers to access micro-credit and to adopt technologies.

This paper uses a concept of technological change as the underlying theory. The analysis is conducted using structural equation modelling based on data compiled from a survey that interviewed 220 of farm-households. Samples of the study were randomly selected from chili farming community in three regions of Java in 2013-2014.

The results show that micro-credit provides positive direct and indirect impacts on rural prosperity. The indirect effect of micro-credit was due to a mediation of technology adoption. Farmers’ personalities and agribusiness environment determined farmers’ decision to access micro-credit and to adopt the technology.

Policymakers should introduce more advanced technology and provide credit facilities at the same time to ensure technology adoption and welfare improvement of the community.

Using structural equation modelling enables analysis of simultaneous regression models. Along with technology here, micro-credit played roles as catalyst and reagent in improving rural livelihood.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the productivity of rice production by decomposing the growth of total factor productivity (TFP) into four components: technological change, scale effects, technical and allocative efficiencies.

This study employed an econometric approach to decompose TFP growth into four components: technological change, technical efficiency, allocative efficiency and scale effect. Unbalanced panel data used in this study were surveyed in 1994, 2004 and 2014 from 360 rice farming operations. The model used the stochastic frontier transcendental logarithm production technology to estimate the technology parameters.

The results indicate that the primary sources of TFP growth were technological change and allocative efficiency effects. The contribution of technical efficiency was low because it grew sluggishly.

This study has several shortcomings, such as very low R² and the insignificant elasticity of labour presented in the findings. Another limitation is the limited time period panel covering long interval, which resulted in unbalanced data.

The government should improve productivity growth by allocating more areas for rice production, which enhances the scale and efficiency effects and adjusting the use of capital and material inputs. Extension services should be strengthened to provide farmers with training on improved agronomic technologies. This action will enhance technical efficiency performance and lead to technological progress.

As Indonesian population is still growing at a significant rate and the fact that rice is the primary staple food for Indonesian people, the productivity of rice production should increase continually to ensure social security at a national level.

The productivity growth is decomposed into four components using the transcendental logarithm production technology based on farm-level data. The measure has not been conducted previously in Indonesia, even in rice-producing countries.

A research and development project disseminated ecological technologies to approximately 3,250 vegetable farmers through farmer field schools (FFS) in four districts of Bali and East Java provinces of Indonesia. This article aims to assess the economic sustainability of vegetable production after FFS participation.

A survey randomly sampled 500 farmers, comprised of FFS participants (50%) and non-FFS participants (50%). Based on 1,000 farm operations, this analysis employed input-saving technology as the fundamental model examined using the double-difference method. Simultaneous reduction of agrochemicals and improvement of productivity represent indicators of economic sustainability.

Results indicate that pesticide use decreased without jeopardising farm productivity; moreover, vegetable production increased. These findings indicate that the ecological technologies transferred through FFS significantly improved economic sustainability performance.

This study purposively selected farmers who grew tomato and chilli. Thus, the outcomes are not generalisable to other crops.

FFS continues to be an effective method for transferring agricultural technologies to farmer communities. Policymakers are recommended to use FFS for disseminating beneficial and sustainable technologies to broader agricultural communities.

The adoption of ecological technologies provides positive economic and ecological milieus.

This study employs a double-differences approach to verify input-saving technological progress. Therefore, the performance of economic sustainability attributable to the project intervention is theoretically justified.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse factors affecting the use of pesticides in intensive vegetable farming in Java, Indonesia. Evaluating such factors is expected to provide appropriate policies to reduce pesticides, and eventually, mitigates the adverse impacts of pesticides on human health and the environment.

Data were compiled from a farm survey of randomly selected 240 vegetable farmers in three regions of Java in 2014. A concept of economic threshold was employed to analyse the pesticide use determinants, which were estimated using econometric models.

Factors leading to the increase in the application of pesticides were the number of observed insect pests, prices of vegetables, use of local varieties, and use of mixed pesticides. Conversely, factors lowering the use of pesticides were the number of observed diseases, the cost of pesticides, and area planted to vegetables. The most important factor in influencing pesticide use was farmers’ perception on the correct prediction of yield losses associated with pests and diseases.

The sample for this research is somewhat low and the analysis was based on one-year data of the quantity of pesticides in a formulation.

The use of pesticides can be reduced by training farmers on crop protection practices, which provide correct information on pests and diseases. Policies related to the price of pesticides would be ineffective, as farmers still highly relied on pesticides. These findings will be useful for reducing the use of pesticides in intensive vegetable farming in Indonesia, and in tropical countries in general.

Pesticides have two opposite properties: to increase income on the one side and to cause devastation of life on the other side. Because pesticides are generally less selectively toxic than would be desired, non-targets including humans and the environment must be protected from contamination by these agrochemicals. This study found the most important determinants for reducing pesticide exposures in Indonesian intensive farming.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of enhanced knowledge and technology innovations, which were resulted from training, on the simultaneous production of rice and soybean in Java, Indonesia.

A model of product possibility frontier with two outputs produced using the same resources was employed. Based on the model, supply responses of soybean and rice were derived. Aggregate data consisting of 12 regions during the ten years of 2000–2009 were compiled from relevant agricultural institutions at the provincial level.

Improvement in farmers’ capacity has been able to increase production of soybean and rice simultaneously. Farmers’ capacity increased after completion of the school. Knowledge and skill gained from the school have been applied to both rice and soybean farming. Other economic factors also affected the supply response of both commodities.

Available data covered periods 2000–2009. However, the outcomes are still relevant to the current situation because food crops are the basic necessity. This study used secondary aggregate data, which might be less accurate than primary data. However, secondary data have the advantage concerning coverage and time span.

The Government, in collaboration with non-government organisations and the private sectors, should continue to enhance farmers’ capacity to increase the production of food crops to feed people in Indonesia, and over the world in general.

An analysis of joint production using a concept of product transformation curve can measure the impact of training on multi products.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of mobile phone usage on sales and profit as the indicator of business performance, to analyse the facilitating roles of mobile phones and factors affecting farmers' decision to use the mobile phone in agribusiness activities.

Intensive farming was selected in this study due to its higher profitability than other crops. Data were compiled from field surveys of 1,040 farmer households in vegetable production regions of Indonesia. This study employed structural equation modelling, identifying mediating variables and quantifying multiple endogenous variables' direct and indirect effects in simultaneous regression equations.

The results indicate that mobile phone usage enabled farmers to increase sales, obtain market information, acquire improved agronomic technology, access credit and contact customers. The device enhanced profit through mediations of high sales, reasonable prices and access to credit and market information. The personal attributes of farmers determined the adoption of mobile phones to support agribusiness activities.

This study paid attention to the use of mobile phones, which was considered an integral technology of information and communication. Other components, such as personal computers and other Internet-based devices, need further study.

As the rate of mobile phone use was still low, farmers should be encouraged to utilise the device. Socialisation and specially designed training workshops on agribusiness information systems using mobile phones are of the best ways.

Using structural equation modelling enables to analyse of multi-dependent variables in one model. Farm-level data provide a real situation, and policy implications should address the right target. The subject of this investigation is a semi-subsistence farm household that lacked access to information and communication technology.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the distribution channels of vegetable sectors in Indonesia, its economic impact on the performance of vegetable sales and the factors affecting marketing channels selected by producers.

The study employed qualitative and quantitative methods. A market survey was qualitatively conducted at producer, intermediary, wholesaler, hotel and food processing company as well as retailer levels. Producer survey was quantitatively conducted at the farm level, by interviewing 556 randomly selected farm households. Structural equation modelling was employed to accomplish the objectives of the study.

Marketing channels for vegetables in Indonesia was complex and relatively long. Farmers decided to select particular channels because of business circumstance and their knowledge. Distance and gentleman’s agreement with traders limited farmers to choose the desirable marketing channel. Marketing channels affect business performance in terms of high sales and profit.

This study only pays attention to the supply side of vegetables. The effect of marketing channels also encumbers the consumers, which are beyond this study. Other studies are expected to highlight the consumer side.

This study focused on smallholder agribusiness players. This study uses two surveys as data sources: market survey and producer survey. The market survey serves as vital information to design producer surveys.