Strategies for Strengthening Agricultural Institutions in Support of Food Security: A Mixed-Methods Study from Parepare City, Indonesia
Abstract
Agricultural institutions play a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural development and strengthening food security, particularly in resource-limited areas such as Parepare City. This study aims to analyze the role of agricultural institutions and formulate institutional strengthening strategies to support food security. The study employed a mixed methods approach, with data collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and questionnaires. Institutional role analysis was conducted using MAXQDA, while strengthening strategies were analyzed using Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM). The results suggest that agricultural institutions contribute through three sectors: the public sector, the voluntary sector, and the private sector, which play a role in providing production facilities, extension services, access to capital, food distribution, and digital-based marketing. The ISM analysis identified five priority strategies: increasing the capacity of extension workers, increasing farmer knowledge through education and mentoring, providing production facilities, providing fertilizers as needed, and using quality seeds to increase productivity. Strengthening human resource capacity and synergy between stakeholders emerged as key factors in realizing adaptive and sustainable agricultural institutions to support regional food security.
Keywords
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Introduction
Agriculture is a strategic sector that holds a central position in national development (Tahir et al., 2025; Sanga & Schlüter, 2025). However, the agricultural sector in Indonesia continues to face various fundamental structural challenges, one of which relates to agricultural institutions (Hakim & Febrianti, 2025). These institutional weaknesses result in low competitiveness, limited access to resources, and the agricultural sector's suboptimal contribution to supporting national food security (Bachtiar et al., 2022; Akbar et al., 2022).
Agricultural institutions encompass the formal and informal organizations, rules, norms, and networks that govern agricultural production, distribution, and consumption (Uphoff, 1986; Ostrom, 1990). These institutions serve as critical intermediaries between farmers and markets, between policy makers and practitioners, and between knowledge producers and knowledge users (North, 1990). In developing country contexts, strong agricultural institutions have been shown to facilitate technology adoption, improve market access, enhance risk management, and ultimately contribute to food security outcomes (Bawa, 2019; Obayelu et al., 2021).
Conclusion
5.1 Summary of Findings
Agricultural institutions play a crucial role in supporting food security in Parepare City. The study identified institutional roles across three sectors:
In the public sector, institutional roles include affordable food movements and farmers' markets, seed and agricultural machinery provision, supervision, price stabilization, policymaking, market operations, development of superior varieties, provision of PMT (Supplementary Feeding), and optimization of land use. The public sector emerges as the primary actor in maintaining food availability and price stability.
In the voluntary sector, institutional roles include capital assistance, agricultural technology innovation, education, mentoring, and simultaneous planting. The voluntary sector serves primarily as a facilitator and intermediary, bridging gaps between public policy and private sector implementation.
In the private sector, institutional roles include food distribution, land optimization, simultaneous planting, and digital-based marketing. The private sector plays a complementary role in ensuring efficient food value chains.
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