The Construction of Knowledge, Values, and Embeddedness in the Dynamics of Institutional Change of Land Ownership-Authority and Agrarian Working Relationships
Abstract
The research is to explain the knowledge, value, and embeddedness of the farmer society in the Pakis and Poncokusumo Sub-Districts in Malang Regency. With its various values, knowledge, and embeddedness in society, the agriculture sector is demanded to remain in existence. However, the dynamics of change in society makes this ideal condition relatively difficult to be fulfilled. Through the perspective of economic sociology elaborated with a number of theoretical frameworks, among them the structuration of Giddens, the social capital of Bourdieu, and the social embeddedness of Granovetter, in particular, this research illustrates not only the problems, but also the ways of maintaining the survival of the farmer society in facing social disasters in the agriculture sector. The research uses a qualitative method with the techniques of in-depth interviews, observation, and library research in collecting data. The findings have shown that the bonds of social capital of stakeholders, such as landowners, supervisors, tillers, farm laborers, and brokers play an important role in maintaining the collective values of the agriculture sector in the dynamics of institutional change of land ownership-authority and agrarian working relationships, while the inheritance of farming knowledge and values in society involves the linkage between agent and structure in farmer society. Social value such as ngasak is the reflection of the local wisdom of the farming society affirming the dimension of social embeddedness that positions the orientation of economy and society not as entities that oppose one another, but instead as a single unity. Finally, the dynamics of social change that brings about the transfer of knowledge and maintenance of values cannot be taken to mean as merely something that is taken for granted; instead, it is directed to a strong adaptive effort to support the existence of the agriculture sector.
