Financial Support Program for Small Farmers, and Its Impact on Local Food Security. Evidence from Indonesia (original) (raw)

This paper addresses the implementation of the Kawasan Mandiri Pangan (KMP) program, a microfinance program for farmer groups, assessing whether the program affects farmers’ decisions concerning production, marketing, and consumption or not, and its impacts on household food security along three dimensions: food availability, food access, and food utilization. Based on a qualitative and theory of change mixed-methods analysis, which uses interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs), this research sheds light on the program’s success among two groups of farmers. Both groups experienced improved productivity and increased food availability, but only one group sustained the program. The results indicate that the program has not affected the commercialization of any particular crop, where the crop’s best selling price, relationships, and commitments are factors that affect the farmers’ marketing decisions. Other findings show how food access at the household level increased when the cr...