Abstract

Cocoa is one of the leading sector commodities in Polewali Mandar Regency and can contribute to the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). Luyo Sub-district consistently contributes to cocoa production in this Regency. However, this consistency is not accompanied by cocoa farmers' income, which is still classified as very low; one of the causes is suspected to be price differences in each marketing channel. This causes farmers to have considerations in determining marketing institutions or choosing marketing channels. The purpose of this study is to analyze the decision-making patterns of farmers when choosing marketing channels and the factors that influence cocoa farmers' decisions when choosing marketing channels. The descriptive analysis method is used to determine the pattern of farmers' decision-making, while the binary logistic regression analysis method is used to determine the factors that influence farmers' decision-making in choosing marketing channels. The results showed that the role of the wife dominates farmers' decision-making patterns in choosing marketing channels. Meanwhile, factors that significantly influence cocoa farmers' decision-making in choosing marketing channels are age, number of family members, total production, farmer group membership, other sources of income, frequency of attending extension activities, and capital attachment to marketing institutions.