Dynamics of Farmer Groups in Private Forest and Social Forestry in Bandung Regency, West Java Indonesia

The success and setbacks of a group are indicated by its dynamics. This study aims to analyze: a) the level of dynamics of farmer groups in private forest and social forestry; b) the individual factors that affect the dynamics of private forest and social forestry farmer groups; and c) to formulate strategies to increase the dynamics of farmer groups. This research was conducted in Bandung Regency with research subjects were two farmer groups, i.e. KTH Mukti at Babakan Peuteuy Village and LMDH Bukit Amanah, Cempakamulya Village, Data collected by interviewing 30 respondents in each farmer group randomly. The collected data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) with the partial least square (PLS) approach. The results showed that the group dynamics of KTH Tani Mukti was in the low category, while the group dynamics of LMDH Bukit Amanah was in the high category. Characteristics of the respondents that influence the dynamics of the KTH Tani Mukti group were the area of land ownership and group motivation, while the characteristics of the respondents that influence the dynamics of the Bukit Amanah LMDH group were education, income, number of dependents in the family, farming experience, age, length of stay in the village and group motivation. Keywords: Community Forests, Forest Farmers Groups, Group Dynamics, Social Forestry.