Rasionalitas Petani pada Pemasaran Kubis di Desa Pontang Kabupaten Jember

Abstract

In Pontang Village, cabbage farmers face two marketing channels: local marketing and export marketing. In local marketing, farmers have greater freedom to market their products because there are no binding regulations. Meanwhile in export marketing, farmers are required to join a partnership with middlemen under the auspices of a company. Within these partnerships, there are several rules that must be agreed upon and followed by the farmers. As rational actors, farmers can choose between these two marketing options based on which they believe will provide the greatest benefit. The objective of this study is to determine the rational choices farmers make when selecting a marketing channel for their cabbages. This study employs a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Informants were selected using purposive sampling. Data collection methods include observation, interviews, and documentation. Data validity was tested using source triangulation, methodological triangulation and researcher triangulation. This study employs James S. Coleman’s theory of rational choice as a framework for analyzing the reseacrh. The results of this study indicate that some farmers choose local marketing, which offers freedom without binding regulations in cultivation. The profit obtained from selling local cabbage harvests tend to fluctuate, thereby impacting the stability of farmer’s income. This situation has led some farmers to shift toward export marketing due to higher profits that remained relatively stable despite fairly strict partnership regulations.