Ayu Kartini Parawansa, Annisa Paramaswary Aslam, Peter J. McMahon
To develop sustainable agriculture in Indonesia, there is a need to empower smallholder farmers and promote gender equality in the agricultural sector. A study was conducted among mixed cropping cacao farming households in South, West and Central Sulawesi Provinces (n=435). The aim of the study was to elucidate the relationships between latent variables and farmer understanding of relevant Social Services, Financing, and Household and Community Challenges (SSHFCs) and the implementation of sustainable practices (such as crop diversification). Informed by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), ‘Environmental Knowledge’ (EK) was incorporated into the study, in addition to other TPB core components, Attitudes (AT) and Subjective Norms (SN). The data collected by the questionnaire reflect these latent variables. The application of a partial least squares-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) demonstrated the reliability and discriminant validity of these data. Path analysis in the model indicated that AT, SN and EK all had significant direct effects on SSHFC or farmers’ understanding of available resources for sustainability outcomes. While path coefficients between variables (including indirect effects) were significant for both genders considered separately, attitudes toward sustainable practices did not differ between male and female farmers. However, the indirect effects of SN on SSHFC mediated by EK were significantly greater among men than women, whereas the direct effects of SN on SSHFC were much weaker in men. This suggests that women will seek out support services regardless of their level of environmental knowledge, while men are more likely to access such resources with the mediating effect of environmental knowledge. Nevertheless, EK also enhanced the understanding of available resources (or SSHFC) among women, demonstrating the potentially strong mediating role of EK in seeking sustainable outcomes within these farming communities. © 2025, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Facultad de Agronomia e Ingenieria Forestal. All rights reserved.
Muslim University of Indonesia, South Sulawesi, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Management, Universitas Negeri Makassar, South Sulawesi, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Australia
