AN OVERVIEW CONTRACT FARMING ON SMALLHOLDER’SSOCIAL BUSINESS: THE IMPLEMENTATION TRIPLEBOTTOMLINE AND ISLAMIC SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there have been a variety of production restrictions that smallholder farmers or contract farmers in many underdeveloped nations must contend with, including a lack of access to services such as effective extension and rural loans facilities, both of which are necessary pre-conditions for upgrading commodity value chains. Contract farming has the potential to be a socially sustainable business as its ability to perform well under triple bottom line parameters. Despite the potential to be a socially sustainable business, contract farming is underdeveloped and unable to generate a stable income for the rural poor. Therefore, this study attempts to understand smallholder welfare in terms of monetary support and social likelihood ecosystem. This study also identified bottom line namely; survival, sufficient, and sustainable model to support and protect contract farming businesses from risk. Excluding the poorest or most vulnerable smallholders could also exacerbate pre-existing societal inequalities and prevent those groups from accessing services and inputs that facilitate an upgrade in their standard of living. This study used a focus group approach to understand the factors contributing to the effectiveness of the Triple Bottom Line of contract farming for smallholders. The focus group interviews that will be carried out in this study are influenced by Glazer and Strauss seminal works. The expected outcome will show that the agricultural sector holds a central position in the economic systems of the developing countries. For the smooth continuation of contract farming, its contribution to the economic system, and the proper working ecosystem of the agriculture sector, blending with the so-called new contract farming Triple Bottom Line are strongly required. In the livestock sector, the expected evidence will highlight the crucial role of survival, sufficient and sustainable in terms of contract farming social business. The evolution of the contract farming process will have numerous implications for the domain of triple bottom line such as survival, sufficiency, and sustainability. This, however, could be materialise of any new type of contract farming on the farm and has to be coupled up with intervention from the authorities. This study will make a significant practical contribution to improving existing contract farming. The Triple Bottom Line will help governments in developing countries design policies and scenario perhaps could be of a more sustainable ecosystem for contract farming. Existing smallholder agricultural entities can transform their business models to aligned perhaps go beyond triple bottom line parameters. Social business contract farming will foster and ensure small-scale farmers' wellbeing without sacrificing the economic goals of the agricultural firms.