The articles served on this page have been all reviewed properly according to the Humaniora standards and policies and are accepted to be published in the upcoming issues. However, the articles have no particular publication date yet, until they are officially published on the website in a complete issue or volume.
Copyediting & Production Stages
Vol. 36 (2), 2024
Migration, Aging Farmer, and Strategies for Maintaining Food Security
Firdaus Marbun
Research Center for Population, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia
Abstract
One of the threats to agricultural sustainability and food security in the future is the aging of farmers. The reluctance of youth to work in the agricultural sector and their choice to migrate to the cities has implicated for stagnant regeneration of farmers and leaving agricultural management to the old farmers. Farmer aging not only has impact on decreasing production yields but also agricultural sustainability. Regardless of the impact on decreased production, it is important to see how aging farmers deal with their limited abilities by continuing to rely on agriculture as a source of subsistence. This research was conducted on rice farmers in the village of Parbotihan, North Sumatra using qualitative methods and data collection techniques through observation and in-depth interviews. The findings in this study are the change of youth orientation to migrate and stay in the cities that is influenced by getting better education. Leaving management of agricultural land for old farmers means that farmers must continue to be active in farming to meet their needs. Therefore, one of the efforts made by farmers as a form of their strategy in overcoming their limitations is to make the cultivation process more flexible. Moreover, due to changes towards the flexibility of the process, farmers also choose short-lived plant species. So that way, they still have a season once a year and remain productive.
