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Development Communication in Agriculture
A Retrospective Study of Motramed (in English : Mediated Partnership Model) Program for Arabica Coffee Farmers in Bondowoso, Indonesia
By Lisa Virgiano
Malmo University
Communication Development
2012
Supervisor : Dr. Jakob F. Dittmar
Lecturer in Media Studies, Malmo Hogskola, Sweden
Abstract
“Black gold is not oil. It is coffee.” – Anonymous
Coffee is an important commodity being traded daily on major commodity trade exchanges in London and New York. Meanwhile, in emerging markets like Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, coffee is a major source of revenue, with exports of coffee accounting for, in some cases, over 80% of foreign exchange earnings[1]. As the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans in the world, Indonesia holds a strong opportunity to be a prominent coffee player in the world, not only by exporting raw material to developed countries but also by performing solemn roles in coffee global marketing strategies. Sadly, from preliminary research that I conducted before, I found out that the knowledge level of most Indonesian coffee farmers, particularly in coffee processing techniques, is relatively beyond par. How can Indonesia become a respected global player in coffee industry if the farmers do not simply know how to roast and grind their coffee?
Coffee does not only affect world economy. In fact, it touches social cultural aspect in globalization, diffusion of innovations and technology, agricultural sustainability, and human empowerment among coffee farmers. Based on those above notions, I decided to commence on a particular study of a Motramed (Mediated Partnership Model) program, designed and implemented by ICCRI (Indonesian Coffee and Cacao Research Institute), to specialty coffee farmers in Bondowoso, East Java, Indonesia. Over several weeks that I spent in Jember, in ICCRI headquarter, I met directly with ICCRI researchers who are in charge for Motramed development program under Dr. Surip Mawardi’s supervision, respective Motramed farmers in Bondowoso, East Java andMotramed’s social actors. We engaged in an intense dialogue and qualitative interviews regarding Motramed program and its implications towards social, economy, and behavioral change. The study result was tremendously proliferated by myself observation of exploratory study which through that process, I found significant relations between ground theories of development and their field practice.
Acknowledgments
A full recognition should be fully addressed to my supervisor, Dr. Jakob F.Dittmar, for his impeccable academic contribution to my thesis planning and writing. I will be seriously indebted with gratitude to his endless encouragements, especially when I had blockage of enthusiasm during this thesis journey. My deepest appreciationgoes as well to all lecturers and fellow students in communication development program, with whom I barely met physically but I always feel their full spirit fortuitously.
I also would like to extend my deepest respect and admiration to my local collaborator, Dr. Ir. Surip Mawardi, SU, who has demonstrated true love for Indonesian coffee in a form of infinite devotion. Thank you for being such a friend, father, and fellow researcher..
My sincere gratefulness also goes along to the continuous support and understanding from my family, friends, and professional colleagues. You have inspired me to listen to my heart and its beats. Coffee thumps every single rhythm of it.
And finally, I will always remember how my respective sources of interview inspired me to complete this thesis, especially my technical assistant from ICCRI, Mr. Edi Santoso, with whom I sat on his motorcycle backseat, passing hilly mountain and breathing fresh clean air of Bondowoso to finally meet my fellow coffee farmers. You deserve greatest respect for your true dedication.
Untuk semua petani kopi di Indonesia dan pecinta kopi
For all Indonesian coffee farmers and coffee aficionados
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction7
1.1Background of Study : Motramed Description8
1.2Aim of Study9
1.3Research Questions 10
1.4Research Design 11
1.4.1Type of Research 11
1.4.2Case Study Design 12
1.4.3Methods of Data Collection 12
1.5Conceptual Framework 13
2.0Literature Review 15
3.0Research Methodology 21
3.1Methodological Considerations 21
3.2Primary Method : Qualitative Interviews 22
3.2.1Subjects of Interview 23
3.2.2Interview Outline 25
3.3Secondary Method : Observation……..26
3.4Ethical Considerations 27
4.0Analysis and Discussion……..28
4.1Reflection on Research Findings……..28
4.1.1Qualitative Interviews 28
4.1.2Observation……..34
4.2Motramed : Setting Standard for Glocalization… 36
4.3Motramed : Diffusing Technology to Build Capacity 37
4.4Motramed : Exercising Power 42
4.5Adaptation of Development Communication
Convergence in Motramed…… 45
4.6Social Development : A Corollary of Motramed 50
5.0Conclusion 54
6.0Recommendations…….. 57
Bibliography……..58
Figures :
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Figure 1 : Integrated Conceptual Framework14
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Figure 2 : Motramed Supporting Units 31
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Figure 3 : Motramed Relationship Model40
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Figure 4 :Communication Organizational Model of Motramed43
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Appendices:
Appendix I: Motramed in Particular62
Appendix II: Interview Transcript65
Appendix III: Interview Transcript69
Appendix IV: Interview Transcript73
Appendix V: Interview Transcript77
Appendix VI: Interview Transcript82
Appendix VII: Interview Transcript90
Appendix VIII: Interview Transcript99
1.0Introduction
As a land area with almost 1.9 million square meters in size, Indonesia produces 329.000 tons of coffee beans, making it the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans in the world (source : 2010) with a per capita consumption only 0.87 kg (source : Data For Crop/Calendar Year 2009, Another fact is Indonesia produces not only robusta coffee, but also more than 20 varieties of arabica coffee from different regions with distinctive flavors and body characters. The varieties in coffee commodity do not only hold imperative contribution in Indonesian economy but it also serves as a means of development in agricultural, ecological, and socio cultural aspects.
On the other hand, the real condition of Indonesian coffee farmers is far from standard of welfare. They are often treated as an object by intricate supplychain in coffee industry. Middlemen often fiddle the coffee price because of the low quality coffee beans and farmers are blocked from the access to direct marketing channels.A development of coffee beans quality for an orientation to global market, as well as upstream industrial development, and other supporting industries related in coffee are considered as deciphers to increase coffee farmer’s welfare. By focusing on how development communication being adapted in technology diffusion for quality improvement, a practice of simplified supply chains through direct marketing channels with exporters, and upstream industrial development with stakeholders’ collaboration with shared mutual interests and goals, I let myself to unlock the keys of development initiative by investigating the nature, application of development communication in agricultural sector, and its insinuations to socio cultural aspect in globalization, power relations, diffusion of innovations and technology, agricultural sustainability, capacity building and development communication adaptation among coffee farmers in Bondowoso, East Java, being one of Indonesia’s specialty coffee region. Those development communication initiatives were carried out through Motramed program, an agricultural programdesigned and implemented by ICCRI (Indonesia Coffee Cacao Research Institute), with a focus on technology diffusion to increase arabica coffee beans quality.
I curiously intend to seek how the implementation of Motramed program being carried out to achieve its development objectives through trajectory of communication paradigm for sustainable development.
1.1Background of Study : Motramed Description
Motramed is an agricultural development program initiated in 2002 by ICCRI (Indonesian Coffee and Cacao Research Institute) with a specialized development area in Indonesian arabica coffee. The first program was started in specialty coffee region of Kintamani, Bali and then the program was developed continually in Flores island, Papua, and East Java. Motramed was not mainly created solely to enhance fair trade implementation among farmers and buyers, it has own main objective, to diffuse the technology of wet coffee processing to the coffee farmers so they can enhance their coffee quality based on international standard. Later on, Motramed has achieved many simultaneous goals, such as to empower farmer’s communities by creating sustainable and alternative channels of income, to conserve the forest, to abridge supply chain distribution channels, to develop potential export market, to convince exporters to buy good quality of Indonesian coffee beans, and to promote Indonesian coffee beans.
Motramed was designed in several training modules to provide knowledge mentoring and capacity training in different aspects, starting from coffee beans cultivation, harvesting, processing, until direct marketing to exporters. Those training moduleswere disseminated through continuous assessment and escorting by ICCRI researchers during certain period of time.
As an initiator, ICCRI, also collaborated with respective parties to support Motramed program so it has greater impact to coffee farmers. Local stakeholders with shared and mutual goals are invited to participate in Motramed program. Each specialty coffee region, which have joined Motramed program, has particular stakeholders, starting from local government, local financial institution, local horticultural department, marketing partner, and coffee farmers association. Furthermore, I applied a terminology of social actors to highlight stakeholders’ omnipresence throughout all chapters.
For a case study of this project work, I decided to focus on an investigation of Motramed program in Bondowoso region, located in East Java, because it involved the most number of central stakeholders, causing comprehensive communication process and pattern that could produce pedagogical analysis in terms of communication in context with development.
1.2Aim of Study
As the world's largest traded commodity after crude oil, coffee has provided employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Coffee is crucial to the economies and politics of many developing countries; for many of the world's Least Developed Countries, exports of coffee account for more than 50 percent of their foreign exchange earnings[2]. Coffee is also an intricate business. It involves multifarious supply chain channels with huge income disparity among coffee farmers, middlemen, millers, local traders, exporters, roasters, and business owners. From coffee beans to a cup of espresso in an urban coffee shop, requires several significant steps of botanical and ecology understanding, planting, harvesting, field processing, roasting, and cup tasting[3]. All of those steps definitely oblige dexterous human power to fill in the gap between high demand of good quality coffee and its continuous supply.
With a strong focus on coffee farmers as an essential active part of coffee industry, this project work lands its own territory to create path of discovery and understanding how capacity building as an approach to socio economy developmentbeing conferred in Motramed program’s main objective, which is to improve coffee farmers’ welfare through coffee beans quality enhancement by utilizing technology diffusion to farmers. It will investigate and identify opportunities and problems of implementation of Motramed program to significantly provide a critical proposition for agricultural development in Indonesia based on actual facts found during the research.By utilizing combined social research methods and theoretical development concepts application, this project work will also pursuit communication challenges in agricultural development sphere and give integratedelucidations as a reflective approach to communication for development practice.
1.3Research Questions
This Project Work holds fundamental research question as below :
How is Motramed program implemented to achieve its development objectives and to what extent its developmental contributions serve the coffee farmers in Indonesia?
A single minded question mentioned above shall lead to several research objectives such as :
-To investigate Motramed program and implementation based on the trajectory of development paradigms in corridor of globalization context, power relations, technology diffusion, and capacity building.
-To identify and explore the convergence of development communication adaptation implemented by Motramed and their contribution to provide productive knowledge among coffee farmers.
-To reflect and analyze the development consequence generated by Motramed implementation.
-To provide critical proposition for future enhancement of Motramed.
1.4Research Design
It is important to discern that a research design should not to be treated as another means of research method (De Vaus, 2004, p.9). As a researcher for this particular project work, I should pose a successful differentiation, between how the collection of data should be performed and how the setting of logical structure should be planned to follow the data enquiry, in a critical way, in order to ensure that the substantiation of data permits me to answer the primary research question as unequivocally as possible. To emphasize the role of research design, a researcher must be able to formulate a research question, specify the detailed of evidence needed to rejoin the research question, and to assist the research activity process according to its genuine objective.
1.4.1 Type of Research
To quote Yin (1989, p. 29) as cited by De Vaus (2004, p.9) :
Research design deals with a logical problem and not a logistical problem.
Thus, a coherent work flow should be ensued with a fundamental aspect of recognizing the type of research question as a primary step in order to know what type of data is needed for further analysis. This project work is considered as a descriptive research, with a simple question of what is Motramed program and its implementation. Following the basic step of it, the question per se will lead to another dimension of the case study and provoke empirical description through theories testing and data management process. It will try to describe evidence found during the investigation and all of significant characteristics about the case study in a factual and systematic way. It will make the case study as a form of categorization and advanced explanation how the case study brings development impacts to the incumbent farmers society in Indonesia. Being a descriptive research, does not mean that this project work only provide floating information on the surface. In fact, it will also scrutinize and problematize the case study dimensional effects with communication development perspective as its staggering point.
1.4.2Case Study Design
Yin (1994) once mentioned that case study is an empirical inquiry, in which it is focus on a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context and boundaries between phenomenon and its context are not clearly evident suitable for studying complex social phenomena. It follows procedural characteristics in the situation include: many variables of interest; multiple sources of evidence; theoretical propositions to guide the collection and analysis of data.
Case study brought myriad paradox to its application because it is often identified with loosely framed and nongeneralizable theories, biased case selection, informal and undisciplined research designs, weak empirical leverage, subjective conclusion, nonreplicability, and causal determinism (Achen, et al. (1989) cited by Gerring, 2007, p. 6). However, case study is chosen as a range of research design in this project work to test the theoretical predictions of a general model and to explain the features of a phenomenon (Gerring, 2007, p. 5).
Central components of case study design that consist of a research question, theoretical propositions, units of analysis, logic linking to the data to the propositions, and criteria for interpreting the findings (Yin, 1994) will be examined thoroughly to link the data collection and drawn critical proposition.
1.4.3Methods of Data Collection
Case studies are often seen as prime examples of qualitative research -which adopts an interpretive approach to data, studies `things' within their context and considers the subjective meanings that people bring to their situation (De Vaus, 2004, p.10). Although Yin (1994, p.32) once affirmed that the method does not imply any particular form of data collection - which can be qualitative or quantitative, qualitative data collection will be my primary method through forms of below evidence :
-Related documents and archival records/journals
-Qualitative interviews (one on one and group interviews with semi structured questions)
-Participant observation by performing a particular role in the situation to get an inside view
-Physical documentation of artifacts and related activities
It is imperative to pre-identify the type of evidence in order to response the research question in the most convincing way. Research needs to be structured in such a way that the evidence also bears on alternative rival explanations and enables us to identify which of the competing explanations is most compelling empirically. It also means that we must not simply look for evidence that supports our favorite theory: we should also look for evidence that has the potential to disprove our preferred explanations (De Vaus, 2004, p.16).
1.5Conceptual Framework
Miles and Huberman (1994 cited by Maxwell, 2005, p.33) defined a conceptual framework as a visual or written product, one that “explains, either graphically or in narrative form, the main things to be studied—the key factors, concepts, or variables—and the presumed relationships among them. Conceptual framework is considered as model map of what is exactly going on with a particular event/case study. It is a transitory visualization of minuscule and sporadic theories and its paradigm that relates closely to the research study or hold capability to indicate several vital aspects that could elucidate research problem empirically. Because of its function to assess, justify, and refine research design and its goals, I build up a conceptual framework which includes several important aspects of research design, such as formulating and understanding the research problem, to help me recognize the significant existence of a problem and how to acquire the right information to dismantle and find the correct answers for my research questions.
By utilizing qualitative paradigm in this project work, I have developed an integrated conceptual framework based from existing theories and research. A major function of theory is to provide a model or map of why the world is the way it is (Strauss, 1990).
Figure 1 : Integrated Conceptual Framework
2.0Literature Review
As a fundamental proposition of this study, it is important to comprehend the concept of globalization and its impacts towards development because increased transnational economy activity has madeglobal coffee industry endured dramatic changes over several past decades.
Roland Robertson firstly introduced the globalization theory by defining it as :
The compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole. (Robertson, 1992: 8)
The dimension of globalization entailed the concept of transnational economy activity for several centuries, it also provoked interconnectedness and awareness, and also at the same time, globalization is linked to a wider concept of neo imperialism and the global spread of capitalism. The concept of globalization has made coffee, as a precious commodity, became integrated into a global value chain process being mainly an exportable product for virtually all producing countries (Ventakachalam, n.d., p.5). To quote Nestle Coffee Report, Faces of Coffee (2004 cited by Ventakachalam, n.d., p.2) :