Agricultural Development’s Influence on Rural Poverty Alleviation in the North Buton Regency, Indonesia—The Mediating Role of Farmer Performance

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper is aimed at proving that investments in rural development will stimulate farm business performance and this will contribute to poverty alleviation.

Since a large part of the population is devoted to farming and agriculture plays a relevant role in the GDP formation, the three hypothesis stated at the beginning of the paper seem quite obvious.

There is any reason why by investing in rural infrastructure, the farming productivity will not improve?

There is any reason why by improving the farming productivity, there will not be any effect on poverty alleviation?

Despite the complexity of the investigation (i.e. data collection, data analysis, results discussion), the findings are quite obvious. Authors should point out at some unexpected results, which are in contrast with the economic theory.

I suggest to unify 5-Conclusions and 6-Recommendation. 

Author Response

Point 1: Is there a reason why investing in rural infrastructure increases agricultural productivity?
Response 1:
Infrastructure development in the rural areas of North Buton Regency increases agricultural production. It facilitates agricultural production marketing and infrastructures such as fertilizers and medicines. This enables farmers to increase the productivity of their farming land without sacrificing transportation costs. Moreover, infrastructure development enhances the accessibility of field agricultural extension workers (PPL) in providing counseling and training on farming skills, increasing work ethic and farm production. It also facilitates labor accessibility, enabling farmers to obtain the labor needed for farming activities from land processing to post-harvest. Labor availability increases agricultural production in rural areas.
Rural area infrastructure development is a supply system that includes road networks, village markets, bridges, piers, and modes of transportation. It is taken by the government through a ship following the trade approach serving as a service by providing subsidies. The infrastructure investment directs the development and facilitates the movement of people and goods. It also improves the quality and accessibility of the community, increasing agricultural production and sales turnover and encouraging employment in the agricultural sector (Yamin Jinca, 2000). Agricultural production increases with increased accessibility to capital resources because the facilities provided are useful for economic activities in rural areas.
Infrastructure development in rural areas facilitates the accessibility of farmers and traders and the marketing of agricultural products. This increases farm production and the farmers' income, alleviating poverty. It reduces transportation costs to farmers for agricultural products and additional investment, stimulates increased agricultural production, and increases market demand and farmers' incomes in the regency. Agricultural and rural development reforms agricultural arrangements to alleviate poverty or improve the rural residents’ welfare. It maximizes resources, increases agricultural infrastructure improvements, and provides rural economic facilities and budget allocations appropriate for agricultural development programs as the leading national economic sector (Mubyarto, 2004).
Point 2: Is there a reason that increasing agricultural productivity will affect poverty alleviation?
Respones 2:
Agricultural productivity is increased through agricultural intensification and extensification supported by infrastructure development in rural areas. This facilitates the accessibility of farmers and the marketing of fertilizers and medicines. It also increases and facilitates the marketing of agricultural production at reasonable prices for farmers. Increased farmer resources in improving farming skills and map work ethic increase agricultural production and farmers' income. This gradually alleviates poverty in rural areas of North Buton Regency.
The poverty cycle theory proposed by Malassis (1975:93 in Bahrum, 1995) defined poverty as a dead knot and tangled thread with no end. For instance, poverty caused by low agricultural productivity has implications for low farmers' income. It causes a lack of consumption cost, malnutrition, vulnerability to diseases, low education level, labor productivity, and capital investment. This circle would last until there are efforts to remove the poverty chain. One of the efforts is regency government intervention through various agricultural infrastructure development policies. These interventions would increase agricultural productivity and farmers' incomes, eradicating poverty.
Point 3. The author should show some results that contradict the economic theory
Response 3:
Hasan Aedy et al. (2017) showed that agricultural land in the rural area of North Buton Regency is fertile, with indicators without fertilization could produce high production. Farmers have a high work ethic, indicating that they work an average of ten hours daily. However, agricultural production, quality, and selling price are low, reducing the farmers' incomes and increasing poverty. This contradicts the economic theory, which stated that fertile farming land and high work ethic increase agricultural productivity and farmers' income (Todaro, 2000).
Karimuna (2009) found that conventional input factors, including land, labor, and livestock, are essential in agricultural productivity growth in rural areas in the regency. Therefore, optimizing the use of conventional input factors increases farmers' income. The role of modern input factors such as machinery, advanced chemical technology, and genetics is insignificant in increasing agricultural productivity. This contradicts Swinnen (2012), which stated that innovation and modern technology in agriculture increase agricultural productivity, affecting farmers' income levels. Furthermore, agricultural technology encourages and stimulates the improvement of the rural population’s welfare.
Rahmat S. Suraya (2018) showed that rural farmers in the regency have actual and potential resources. They have institutional relationships, friendship, mutual sympathy, and social relations between individuals and families. These relations form a social work group such as cooperation in the agricultural sector and a high work ethic of farmers. However, the social capital built from community culture has not yet increased agricultural productivity and rural farmers’ income. This finding contradicts the sociological theory of rural agriculture. The theory explains that the economic value's actual and potential social and cultural aspects could be institutionalized based on mutual knowledge and recognition. This implies the ability to work together to face problems to achieve group goals, increasing agricultural productivity and rural farmers’ income (Coleman, 1999; Shahra (2003).
Point 4. I suggest combining sections of 5. Conclusions and 6. Recommendations
Response 4:
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1. Conclusions
Agricultural development mediated by constructing rural infrastructure facilities and developing farmers' resources improves farm business performance and impacts rural poverty alleviation. Improving agricultural business performance significantly influences rural poverty alleviation in North Buton Regency. Therefore, agricultural development, directly and indirectly, influences rural poverty alleviation.
5.2. Recommendation
Improved farm business performance could indicate the success of agricultural development. This necessitates establishing a policy plan that positions agriculture as a superior sector in economic growth and a critical tool for alleviating rural poverty in North Buton Regency. Rural poverty alleviation strategy could be stimulated by constructing rural agricultural infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and piers, village markets, dams, and convex. This should continue with rural farmers’ resource development by activating agricultural field extension (PPL). The result would be improved agricultural business skills starting from planning to post-harvest and training the farmer on agricultural processing. The purpose is to increase the performance of agricultural businesses and alleviate rural poverty. Furthermore, the rural residents’ social capital could be a source of strength and valuable resources in agricultural development for poverty alleviation. The trust between community components facilitates the communication and planning of rural agricultural development. The farmers’ social networking by agricultural organizations and individual networks also support the movement of collectivity actions for agricultural development and rural poor people empowerment.
Norm and institutions are the value systems of rural areas that control and maintain the performance of agricultural development. Social capital could also leverage agricultural performance. Therefore, it should be sustained to support rural agricultural development and poverty alleviation in the regency.

Reviewer 2 Report

Th equaltity of figures, visualizing indicators, structural model, etc. are of poor quality. The authors should decide, wethere these numerous figures are necessary.  In the Introduction, a more detailed explanation of what is agricultural development for the studuies area is required (traditional and new commercial crops, types of farms, etc.). It would not be superfluous to place a reference map with the location of studied area. The conclusions seem rather obvious, but this could be one more proof of the role of institutional factor and human capital in powerty alleviation. Such case studies will never be over.

Author Response

Point 1. Poor quality visualization indicators, structural models, and others. The author must decide whether these numbers are necessary.
Response:
Figure 2.
The analysis results presented in Figure 2 showed that constructing road infrastructure, dams, reservoirs, bridges, piers, farming land expansion, and the availability of fertilizers and medicines in rural areas of North Buton Regency increased agricultural production, as indicated by the coefficient values 0.82, 0.81, 0.74, and 0.80. It facilitates marketing of agricultural production facilities and infrastructures, such as fertilizers and medicines. This enables farmers to easily obtain agricultural production facilities to increase the productivity of their farming land without sacrificing transportation costs. Road infrastructure construction also facilitates the accessibility of Field Agricultural Extension workers (PPL). This provides counseling and training on farming skills in rural areas, increasing farmers' farming skills, work ethic, and farming production. Additionally, the infrastructure facilitates the farm workers’ accessibility, helping farmers easily obtain the labor in implementing farming activities from land processing to post-harvest. This shows that labor availability increases agricultural production in rural areas.
Rural area infrastructure development is a supply system that includes a road network, village markets, bridges, piers, and transportation modes taken by the government through a ship following the trade approach through subsidy provision. The infrastructure investment directs the development and facilitates the movement of people and goods in rural areas. It also improves community accessibility and the quantity and quality of agricultural production. This increases sales turnover and the farmers’ income, promotes employment in the rural agricultural sector and facilitates production marketing (Yamin Jinca, 2000).
Figure 3
The analysis results presented in Figure 3 showed that Field Agricultural Extension workers (PPL) foster and train farmers, improving farm business management and business skills in North Buton Regency. This was indicated by a positive influence of 0.74, 0.82, 0.76, and 0.79. The production also increases due to agricultural intensification and extensification programs supported by infrastructure development. This facilitates the farmers’ accessibility to improve their skills, supports fertilizer and medicine marketing, and increases agricultural production. It also promotes agricultural production marketing at reasonable prices, increasing farm performance and farmers' income in rural areas of the regency.
Figure 3 and Figure 4
The results presented in Figures 3 and 4 are shown in Figure 5 regarding the influence of rural infrastructure development and farmer resource development that significantly increase farming performance in North Buton Regency. This is seen from its influence in increasing farm production and quality, the agricultural production’s market share, the number of farmer groups and farming skills, and the price of agricultural production with coefficients of 0.80, 0.89, 0.86, and 0.90, respectively. Therefore, infrastructure development in rural areas and farmer resource development improve farm business performance. This was indicated by increased agricultural production, improved farmers' income, and alleviated rural poverty in the regency.
Figure 5
The analysis showed that improving the rural farming performance through infrastructure and farmer resource development alleviates poverty in North Buton Regency. This is indicated by the farmers’ ability to provide three meals a day for all members and buying cooking utensils, chairs,
cupboards, and television with coefficients of 0.90 0.91, respectively. It was also shown by farmers buying new clothes yearly for all family members and increasing income with coefficients of 0.82 and 0.82, respectively. Increased population’s accessibility to capital resources and agricultural production inputs increases agricultural production because certain are used for economic activities. The infrastructure development in rural areas facilitates the farmer's accessibility to fertilizers and medicines. It also facilitates the accessibility of Field Agricultural Extension workers (PPL), increasing farm production and farmer income and alleviating poverty. Furthermore, infrastructure development reduces agricultural product transportation costs and additional investment. It also increases agricultural production, market demand, and farmers' income in the regency. Agricultural and rural development reform agricultural arrangements to reduce poverty or improve the rural residents' welfare. This maximizes resources, increases agricultural infrastructure improvements, and provides rural economic facilities. Another strategy is appropriating budget allocations in agricultural development programs as the leading sector of the national economy (Mubyarto, 2004).
Point 2. In the Introduction, a more detailed description of agricultural development for the study area is required.
Response:
North Buton Regency comprises 6 sub-districts, 59 villages, 8 urban villages, and 3 transmigration settlement units. The population of 62,088 people mostly works as subsistence farmers in the food crops, plantation, and traditional fishing sub-sectors. Potential resources for non-irrigated rice fields, gardens, and fields are 2,332 ha, 15,279 ha, adn 14,894 ha, while 10,321 ha is not cultivated (Regional Development Planning, Research, and Development Agency in North Buton, 2019). The agricultural land is fertile, and the farmer's work ethic is high. Data on the potential of agricultural resources showed that most people are farmers. Agricultural development is necessary to increase farm production, improve farmers' income, and alleviate poverty.
The problems in the area include inadequate infrastructure development of roads, bridges, piers, and village markets. Farmers cannot increase production, limiting their marketing to the sub-district area. Furthermore, economic forces are not entered from outside, the community's economy is limited to production, and technology use is traditional. The system for implementing business activities is still traditional subsistence. This is because farmers lack farming skills, reducing production and quality, selling prices, farmers' incomes, and increasing poverty.
Infrastructure development in the regency facilitates marketing of agricultural production facilities and infrastructures such as fertilizers and medicines to increase farm productivity. It also facilitates the accessibility of agricultural field instructors (PPL) in fostering and training farmers to improve their farming skills, increasing their production and work ethic. Furthermore, infrastructure facilitates the accessibility of laborers, enabling farmers to obtain labor from land processing to post-harvest to increase agricultural productivity. It also enhances the marketing of agricultural production by a high selling price and low cost of transporting agricultural products to the marketing center. This increases farmers' income and economic growth in rural areas.
Point 3. It is not superfluous to place a reference map with the study area location.
Response:
Hasan Aedy et al. (2017) showed that agricultural land in the rural area of North Buton Regency is fertile, with indicators without fertilization producing high production. Farmers have a high work ethic, with indicators of working an average of ten hours a day on their farm. The income is low because farmers lack farming skills and practice traditional farming. Additionally, there is inadequate transportation infrastructure to meet the marketing needs of agricultural products, social activities, and other economies.
Karimuna (2009) found that agricultural productivity growth in rural areas in the regency is significant for conventional input factors of land, labor, and livestock in increasing agricultural productivity. Therefore, optimizing the use of conventional input factors increases the rural farmers’ income. This is due to inadequate regional infrastructure, hampering the marketing of agricultural production facilities. The limitation also hinders Field Agricultural Extension (PPL) in fostering and training farmers to improve their farming skills.
Rahmat S. (2018) showed that rural farmers in the regency have actual and potential resources for owning institutional relationships, friendship, and mutual sympathy. They also have relations between individuals and families that form a social work group. Farmers cooperate in the agricultural sector and have a high work ethic. However, the social capital built from community culture for generations has not increased agricultural productivity and the income of rural farmers in the regency.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors have considered my suggestions. The only recommendation by the moment is to 'condense' the added peaces of text, making the article more compact.

This was only a suggestion to edit (making morfe compact) the peaces of the text the authors added as reply to my previous review.

These new peaces seem okay from the point of view of the content. But the sentences seem rather long.

Woud be better to shorten them a little bit.

This was my only seggestion.

Author Response

Dear Editor Economies
Here, I submit the revised manuscript file and the response file to Reviewer2.

Thanks,

Author

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf