From demonstration to adoption: Participatory agroforestry transition in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Agroforestry is frequently presented as an integrative land-use option for combining agricultural production, livelihood diversification, and ecological repair. In contrast, farmers in forest-dominated environments rarely use tree-based systems only according to the availability of technical knowledge. Adoption is shaped by cash-flow uncertainty, labor requirements, access legitimacy, institutional support, and the credibility of local evidence. This study examines an early-stage participatory agroforestry intervention in Purnogiri village, Batu City, Indonesia, where farmer groups, Forestry Institution Malang district, and university facilitators jointly introduced demonstration-based tree-crop learning. Using participatory action research and qualitative case-study analysis, the study draws on field observation, focus group discussion, stakeholder coordination records, and intervention documentation. The intervention engaged 48 informants, introduced 160 agroforestry seedlings, and documented a 41% increase in farmer knowledge after socialization and field demonstration. The documented informant profile indicates middle-aged smallholder actors, with age ranging from 45 to 65 years, Elementary School to Senior High School education, 5 to 25 years of farming experience, and 0.5 to 2.0 ha of managed farmland. The strengthened analysis further situates the case within Batu City's smallholder horticultural economy, farmer-group and extension networks, and circular organic-resource potential, including the use of crop residues, fruit and vegetable waste, manure, composting, mulching and eco-enzyme preparation as complementary soil-management practices. The findings show that local readiness did not emerge from training alone, but from the interaction of four mechanisms: livelihood-compatible tree-crop design, demonstration-based social learning, institutional mediation and circular resource use. Existing intercropping experience created an entry point for agroforestry, while Forestry Institution-university-farmer collaboration reduced uncertainty around legitimacy and facilitation. The paper contributes to agroforestry adoption studies by showing that early adoption in state forest margins is a negotiated social and institutional process rather than a one-off transfer of technology. Longitudinal monitoring is still needed to verify seedling survival, management continuity, income effects, residue utilization, and ecological outcomes.