The Long Road to Becoming a Farmer in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia

This chapter presents the trajectories of young men and women into farming and is based on the authors’ research in two villages in Kebumen Regency, Central Java. In our study, we have prioritized the perspectives of young people themselves in respect of their own experiences and pathways as farmers. The chapter consists of four sections. First, we describe the background of the selected location as well as the methodology and techniques of field data collection. The second section provides a picture of the economy, society, and agrarian structure in the two research locations. The third section describes various dimensions of young people’s trajectories into farming and how they respond to the various obstacles and challenges that they face, using the respondents’ own words where possible. The last section offers some conclusions and reflections.