Authors:
Samel W. Ririhena, Paul Adryani Moento, Inez Cara Alexander Phoek

Addresses:
Faculty of Social and Political Science, Musamus University, Merauke, South Papua, Indonesia. Faculty of Business and Accountancy, STIE Saint Theresa, Merauke, South Papua, Indonesia.

Abstract:

This study aims to (1) analyse how public policies, power relations, and elite interests shape agro-investment practices in developing countries, and (2) explore forms of community resistance to unsustainable investments. Employing a qualitative, multilevel case study design, the research integrates macro-level policy analysis with micro-level field data collected through interviews with farmers, activists, government officials, and investors. Supplementary secondary data includes NGO reports, policy documents, and media accounts. Findings reveal that large-scale agro-investments are frequently driven by state-backed policies aligned with corporate interests, often marginalising local land rights. In response, communities employ diverse resistance strategies, ranging from symbolic daily acts to organised collective actions, as adaptive mechanisms against dispossession. Organisational capacity, institutional gaps, and multi-scalar networks shape these resistance practices. Theoretically, this article contributes by synthesising agrarian political economy, resistance theory, and socio-ecological sustainability. In practice, it identifies key elements that enhance resistance effectiveness, such as legal mobilisation and narrative framing around land rights and food sovereignty. The study underscores the agency of local actors in reshaping agrarian relations and calls for more inclusive, participatory land governance to achieve equitable, sustainable agro-investment systems.

Keywords: Agro-Investment Governance; Land Grabbing and Resistance; Political Economy of Agriculture; Community-Based Land Rights; Socio-Ecological Sustainability; Land Rights.

Received on: 21/09/2024, Revised on: 23/12/2024, Accepted on: 15/02/2025, Published on: 12/06/2025

DOI: 10.69888/FTSSSL.2025.000492

FMDB Transactions on Sustainable Social Sciences Letters , 2025 Vol. 3 No. 2, Pages: 82-89

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