Smallholder coffee farmers’ preferences for partnership scheme attributes: a case of geographical indication coffee in Semende, Indonesia

Partnerships play an important role in coffee agribusiness in Indonesia. However, smallholder coffee farmers’ preferences remain understudied, which may contribute to the ineffectiveness of existing partnership schemes. This study examines the preferences of smallholder coffee farmers in Muara Enim, Indonesia, as a geographically indicated coffee producer, Semendo robusta coffee. A choice experiment (CE) approach was used in which 18 choice sets consisting of nine attributes were administered to 300 respondents in a face-to-face survey. The results indicate that farmers are generally willing to participate in partnership schemes under most requirements, except for green bean processing and corporate social responsibility support. Respondents preferred the attributes of institutional platforms, cooperatives, and farmer groups. However, they are reluctant to join MPIG (Community of Geographical Indication Protection) program. Farmers with lower education, a greater distance from home to the coffee plantation, random picking practices, and a larger number of family laborers are more likely not to participate in the partnerships. While this study did not examine welfare or income impacts, its findings provide an empirical basis for designing context-sensitive and farmer-oriented partnership schemes and formulating policies to reduce obstacles to smallholder participation in the coffee value chains.