Behavioral and cultural dynamics of millennial farmers' financial decisions in rural Indonesia

Rural financial decisions are shaped by liquidity needs, household obligations, cultural meanings, and institutional constraints. This exploratory qualitative study examines their interaction among 47 purposively selected male farmers aged 27–43 years in Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. Sixteen farmers participated in individual interviews and 31 in four focus group discussions of eight, seven, eight, and eight participants; no participant took part in both methods. Audio-based, researcher-led coding in NVivo 12 was supplemented by observations and documentary context. Speaker-coded, time-referenced Indonesian excerpts and English translations support the thematic interpretation. Accounts describe debt-linked harvest sales, household–farm allocation, variable planning practices, family consultation, interest-cost concerns, and uneven access to training and technology. Contrasting cases include delayed sales, prior financial training, and explicit rejection of customary influence on financial management. Interest avoidance cannot uniformly be attributed to religious prohibition. The analysis suggests that financial capability depends on whether knowledge and household priorities can be translated into feasible choices under seasonal and market constraints. The male-only purposive sample, joint-speaker passages, and incomplete chronological coding record limit transferability and preclude a demonstrated saturation claim. Seasonal finance, practical financial education, and postharvest support are proposed for evaluation rather than presented as proven poverty-reduction interventions.