Determinants of Farmers’ Behavior towards Land Conservation Practices in the Upper Citarum Watershed in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Erosion and pollution in the Citarum River have reached a very worrying stage. To overcome this problem, the government has launched the Citarum Harum program. One of the policies synergistic with the Citarum Harum program is the application of soil and water conservation principles in farming seasonal crops in the upper Citarum watershed (UCW). Historically, policies and programs for developing pro-conservation farming in this area have been carried out for at least three decades but have not been effective. Increasing the effectiveness of policies requires the existence of suitable instruments. Therefore, it is necessary to have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the attitudes and behavior of farmers in applying soil and water conservation. This study aims to identify the factors influencing farmers’ probabilities and participation in applying soil and water conservation techniques. A double-hurdle approach is used to identify determinants of farmers’ participation and intensity in applying conservation practices. The data were collected from samples of 244 farm households’ growing seasonal crops out of 499 farm households sample in the Bandung and West Bandung Districts. The results show that the determinants of farmer participation and intensity in the application of conservation lie in the ability to finance, land tenure and utilization, and the physical condition of the land. The level of education only affects participation opportunities, even if the increment is significant. In the future, conservation priorities must be more directed at a vegetative approach through developing synergistic perennial crops with particular efforts to convert vegetables on the sloping lands to perennial crops.