Youth Perception on Agricultural Sector (Case Study in Watukenongo, Pungging, Mojokerto).

This study aims at analyzing youth perceptions on agricultural sector and analyzing factors affecting youth perceptions on agricultural sector in Watukenongo village. 91 respondents were involved in this study as sample. Simple random sampling technique was employed in this study. All respondents are youths in Watukenongo village, Pungging, Mojokerto Regency. For data analysis method, the SEM-PLS (Partial Least Square) technique with the help of WarpPLS 7.0 software was implemented. The results showed that the youth perception on agricultural sector was poor in terms of enthusiasm in doing or continuing to farm; it was good in terms of income satisfaction resulted from farming and in terms of self-ability in cultivating agricultural land; and it was very good in terms of pleasure in doing farming activities. The obtained value of R-square is 0.690. The factors affecting youth perception agricultural sector were (1) income, (2) land, and (3) education. Meanwhile, social status and age did not have a significant effect.


INTRODUCTION
Agricultural sector is one of sectors considered by the community to be less profitable. According to , during the last three years, the number of people working in agricultural sector has decreased drastically. The crisis of young farmers in the agricultural sector and the dominance of elderly farmers produce consequences for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector, especially on agricultural productivity, market competitiveness, rural economic capacity. Furthermore, these conditions will threaten food security and the sustainability of the agricultural sector (Susilowati, 2016).
As stated by Santoso et al. (2020), models invented to increase the acceleration of farmer regeneration are the increase of farmer characteristics (age and education level) and external factors (counseling activities and government support). The majority of existing farmers are old (elderly farmers). They experience difficulties to capture information and apply the latest technology in the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, young farmers will be able to cultivate their farms better than older farmers. It is because young farmers' workforce is stronger; they are easier to absorb or comprehend the most recent information in the agricultural sector; and they able to Setiawan et.al (Youth Perception on Agricultural Sector..., Perception, Youth, Agricultural Sector) Simple random sampling technique was employed in this study. Simple random sampling can be employed if the population is approximately the same . The number of samples used was 91 respondents from 1,026 youth using the Slovin formula. Information : n : Number of Samples N : Total Population e : Error Tolerance The number of samples was obtained based on the diversity in the research site. The research data are mostly primary data derived from the results of interviews using a questionnaire having been prepared before the research was conducted. The secondary data that will be used are in the form of village demographic data, village geography, and village maps. Analysis of the data in this study used the Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis method. Partial Least Square (PLS) as one of the structural measurement techniques (SEM) has the ability to predict the relationship between variables and their indicators (Rifai, 2015). There are two models of Partial Least Square (PLS): the inner model and the outer model. The validity and reliability of the outer model greatly affect the hypotheses of the relationships occurring in the inner model. a. Outer Model The relationship between the latent variable and its manifest variable (indicator) is described in the outer model. The correlation between indicator scores and construct scores can show convergent validity. If the correlation value is more than 0.7 with the construction to be measured, it can be stated that the individual reflective measures is high. Cross loading table containing the loading factor values between the indicators and their constructs shows discriminant validity. The latent construct predicts the block size better than other block sizes when the correlation between the construct and its indicators is greater than the size of the other constructs. The outer model possesses two types of models: formative and reflective indicator model. The equation of the outer model above can be interpreted that the manifest variables (variables x and y), exogenous latent variables (ξ), and endogenous latent variables (ε). The value of the outer model (λ) is a simple regression coefficient between the indicator/manifest variable and the latent variable. Measurement error (noise) is by exogenous variables (δ) and (ε) for endogenous variables. b. Inner Model The structural model or inner model is a model description of the relationship between latent variables formed based on the substance of the theory. The general equation for the PLS-SEM structural model in this study is: = 11 + 22 + 33 + 44 + 1 1 : Enthusiasm (Continuing family farming) 2 : Satisfaction (income from agricultural products) 3 : Self ability to cultivate agriculture 4 : Pleasure The variable γ is the path coefficient/relationship between the endogenous and exogenous latent variable. The variable is the path coefficient between the endogenous latent variable and other endogenous latent variables. The residual variable is symbolized by δ. c. Evaluation of PLS Model 1. Composite Reliability (ρc) According to Ibrahim et al. (2021), value of Composite Reliability (ρc) is employed to measure the consistency of the indicator block; it is recommended that the value of Composite Reliability (ρc) be greater than 0.6. Composite Reliability (ρc) can be calculated by the following formula.

Convergent validity
Convergent validity is seen based on the correlation between item/indicator scores and construct scores. Individual reflective measures are said to be high if they correlate more than 0.7 with the construction to be measured (Ibrahim et al., 2021).

Discriminant Validity
The discriminant validity of the indicator can be seen in the cross loading between the indicator and its construct (Ibrahim et al., 2021). The latent construct predicts the block size better than other block sizes when the correlation of the construct with its indicator is greater than the size of the other constructs. d. Evaluation of the Structural Model (Inner Model) Value of R-square will be used to determine the quality of the structural model being evaluated. Hypothesis Test Hypothesis test of the measurement form of outer model is as follows: H0: = 0 (indicator number − not significant) H0: ≠ 0 (indicator number − significant) Hypothesis test of the measurement form of inner model is as follows: The statistical hypotheses for the inner model are as follows: H0: The statistical hypotheses for the inner model are as follows: H0: ≠ 0 (indicator number − significant) The following is formula of t-test : Test statistic used is t-test where t is t-count, and SE (βg) is the standard error obtained from bootstrap. When the empirical t-value is > 1.96, it is assumed that the path coefficients are significantly different at the 5% significance level (α = 0, 05 two-way test) (Ibrahim et al., 2021).

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
This study was conducted in Watukenongo, Pungging, Mojokerto. The respondents involved were youth from that village, both male and female. The following are the characteristics of respondents in the study: Age is the time employed to calculate based on the elapsed time since one's birth. Age is generally measured up to the current year. Age can be utilized to categorize an object. It can be carried out to ease to distinguish the types according to the specified age scale. Age is divided into three types: (1) Chronological age is the age calculated from one's birth to the time of age calculation. (2) Mental age is the age obtained based on one's mental ability. For example, a toddler who is still crawling and talking is still difficult to show the ability that is equivalent to a one-year-old child. The child can be indicated to have a mental age of one year. (3) Biological age is the age owned based on one's biological maturity. The following are the characteristics of youth by age: Based on table 1, it shows that the majority of respondents are between the ages of 21-25 years. Productive age ranges from 15-64 years (BPS, 2021). Based on the table above, it can be identified that all respondents belong to the category of productive age. A productive age absolutely has a greater enthusiasm in carrying out their farming, but with a young age and high productivity level, it will certainly be accompanied by a high level of dignity. Youth is more likely to be disinterested in agricultural sector because of the reluctant of being a farmer, unclear income, and tiring or needing extra time. It is in line with research conducted by Sudrajat et al. (2020) stated that the image of agricultural activities is less prestigious and unattractive. It additionally has a risk of failure and uncertainty in farming. Therefore, there is no guarantee of profit, stability of product prices, and unstable inputs. This will cause the continuity of uncertain income.
Characteristics of Respondents Based on Gender. Humans have the same rights both men and women. Gender equality is very important in any field. Likewise, in the agricultural sector, men and women have the same rights without discrimination because of gender. The following are the characteristics of youth by gender: Based on table 2, it shows the majority of respondents are men, amounting to 63 people (69.2%). The number of respondents from women was 28 people (30.8%). It is because the number of male youths is more than female. The number of male youths is greater (462 people) compared to the number of female youths (448 people). Work in the agricultural sector is also identically with work done by men.
Agricultural land is a place to carry out agricultural business processing activities. The level of population density and culture affect the pattern of land ownership. The pattern of land ownership is also influenced by the unjust distribution of the population. Areas accommodating a sparse population will lead to shifting agricultural patterns. The situation is usually the land in the form of customary land. Areas possessing a dense population tend to have a pattern of individual land ownership and cultivated agricultural land are lasting. The following represents the characteristics of youth based on land area:  Table 3 shows that the majority of 87 respondents (95.6%) own small-scale land, while the other 4 people (4.4%) own medium-scale land. Agricultural land is still actively managed even though the location of the land is close to urban and industrial areas. This indicates that agricultural work is still a worthy selection to become a profession. The results of this study are in line with research of Sudrajat et al. (2020) suggesting that the high perception of farmers on the sociocultural value of agricultural land in Duren, Bandungan, means that they are still very dependent on agricultural land for their lives. Therefore, they must continue to maintain or care for the agricultural land. According to Kusumo & Mukti (2019), to develop a their agricultural business, farmers usually rent land that is not far from their own argicultural land. These efforts can be engaged in optimizing their income from farming.
Characteristics of Youth Based on Education. Education is a learning process to develop one's knowledge, skills, and habits through teaching, training, or research. Education can be obtained through an institution or self-initiative. Education can be divided into several stages including pre-school (kindergarten), elementary school, junior high school, senior high school or vocational school, university. Education can affect the ability of youth in absorbing the information obtained, with both difficult and easy in absorbing the intended information. The following are the characteristics of youth based on education Based on table 4, it shows the respondents are dominated by youth having the latest education of SMA/SMK. The number of youths with the latest education of SMA/SMK is 67 people (73.6%). The number of youths with the latest education of junior high school is 12 people (13.2%). The number of youths with the latest education of Diploma is 3 people (3.3%). The number of youths with the latest education of Bachelor is 9 people (9.9%). It means the majority of youths in the village have received a good education in accordance with the compulsory education program launched by the government, which is 12 years.
Characteristics of Youth Based on Employment Status. Employment status is the type of work being undertaken. Granting employment status can depend on an agency. The following are the characteristics of youth based on employment status: Characteristics of Respondents Based on Parents' Employment Status. People's employment status is a reference for children to determine their profession in the future. It is one of the considerations for determining a profession. The following represents the characteristics of respondents based on their parents' employment status. Based on table 6, it shows that most of the parents' employment status of youth in the village are entrepreneurs showing 40 people (44%). It is slightly contrary to the results of the number of youths whose profession is entrepreneurs (13/14.3%). They are more likely to choose to work as private-sector employees, and most of them are still students. However, the parents' employment status of the youth as farmers is also a lot showing 32 people (35.2%). With the number of parents whose profession is farmers, it is expected that for youth who are still students, they will be interested, and they are willing to work in the agricultural sector. The lowest value comes from the parent's employment status as a public-sector employee with a total of 1 person (1.1%). The rest came from village government apparatus showing 2 people (2.2%), private-sector employees showing 11 people (12.1%), or Civil Servant/Indonesian National Armed Forces/Indonesian National Police totaling 5 people (5.5%).
The following is the frequency of youth's answers to the perception variable: Social status is a sociological concept describing a person's position in social stratification. Social status is able to encourage and shape youth to be better in self-development. Social status will cause youth have more mindsets or points of view about something. Social status affects the decision-making to be taken. Based on table 7, it describes the respondents' answers to the social status variable as follows: 1. In the effect of privilege (X1.1), 70 respondents agree (76.9%), and 17 respondents strongly agree (18.7%). However, as many as 3 respondents (3.3%) said they disagree. It means that agricultural work does not have special rights (privilege) in the village community, or it can be said that agricultural work has the same rights as other types of work. As for the rest, 1 respondent (1.1%) answered neutral. Based on table 7, it can be stated that the majority of youth stated that agricultural work has special rights (privilege) in the community. As stated by Ibrahim et al. (2021), the more prestigious the work of farmers, the more rural youth are attracted to farming. It is in line with Khatir & Rezaei-Moghaddam (2014) in Ibrahim et al. (2021) stating that rural youth having access to the same facilities in all professions will have access to counseling activities, agricultural insight, and household comfort. 2. In the effect of prestige (X1.2), It shows 75 respondents agree (82.4%), and 12 respondents strongly agree (13.2%). However, as many as 3 respondents (3.3%) said they disagree. This means that agricultural work does not have the same prestige among the community in the village. As for the rest, 1 respondent (1.1%) answered neutral. It shows that the majority of youth stated that agricultural work has prestige in the community. According to Fitriyana et al. (2018), working as a farmer is enough to improve social status in the community; they will considers a proffesion as farmer to be noble and quite proud. .
Revenue is the result or net profit of an acceptance process. Mardani et al. (2017) stated that farm income (net farm income) is defined as the difference between gross farm income and total farm expenditure. Sources of income can be obtained in several ways. Broadly speaking, sources of income can be divided into three: salary or wages, own business, and other income. The following is a table of respondents' answers based on income variables: 1. In sufficient savings (X2.1), it shows that the percentage of statement of youth who agree that farm income is able to provide more results for savings was 48.3%. Meanwhile, 13.2% of youth answered neutral. It means that they consider farm income not necessarily able to provide more results for savings. The percentage's answer of the youth who disagreed was 38.5%. It means that not all youths think that farm income is able to provide more that can be saved. 2. In sufficient fee for children's school (X2.2), the percentage of statements of youth who agree that farm income can be used to meet children's school fees was 61.5%. Meanwhile, 11% of youth answered neutral. It means that they consider farm income not necessarily sufficient to cover the costs of their children's schooling needs. The percentage of youths who disagree was 24.5%. It means that not all youth think the farm income is sufficient to cover their children's school fees. 3. In sufficient eating (X2.3), the percentage of statements of youth who agree that farm income is able to provide more results for eating. Meanwhile, 14.3% of youth answered neutral. It means they consider farm income not necessarily able to provide more results to meet basic needs or food costs for their families. The percentage of youths who disagree was 23.1%. It means that not all youth think the farm income is able to meet their daily needs. 4. In sufficient vacation (X2.4) the percentage of statements of youth who agree that farm income is able to provide more results for family vacations. Meanwhile, 25.3% of youth answered neutral. It means they consider farm income not necessarily able to provide more results for vacation use. On the other hand, 24.5% of youths answered they disagreed. It means the farm income cannot be sufficient for vacation. The majority of youths answered agree, meaning that they think that farm income was higher, and it can be expended for vacation. It is in line with research conducted by Fitriyana et al. (2018) stating that the income earned from working as a farmer can be sufficient to meet the needs of clothing, food, housing, education costs, and luxury goods as well as the allocation of time devoted to the income received is also quite balanced. According to Ibrahim et al. (2021), parents who have large lands are able to provide access to higher education for their children resulting their children be able to get jobs with better wage. It is in line with reserach of Purbaningsih (2020) stataing that land area has a significant effect on farmers' income.
Perception is the process of translating incoming stimuli into the senses or the ability of the five senses to translate the stimulus. According to Arifin et al. (2017), perception can be defined as the process of giving meaning, interpretation of stimuli and sensations received by individuals, and it is strongly affected by internal and external factors of each individual. Based on table 9, it describes the respondents' answers to the perception variable as follows: In enthusiasm (Y1.1), the percentage of the youth's answers who agreed was 49.5%, meaning that only some youths possess the enthusiasm to maintain farming. They also want to develop agricultural activities be better so that the agricultural sector is seen as a promising sector to work on. Meanwhile, 50.5% of youths said they disagreed. It means they do not have the enthusiasm to be involved in the agricultural sector. Youth perceives jobs in the agricultural sector as less prestigious. It is in line with research of Sudrajat et al. (2020) stating that the change in view has led many children of farmers to stay away from agricultural activities. It is because agricultural activities are considered as traditional activities that are outdated and not prestigious. Hin accordance with research conducted by Susilowati (2016) stating the younger generation in the modern era has a tendency to prefer to get jobs outside the agricultural sector in urban areas rather than work in agricultural sector rural area in which work in this sector is considered less beneficial or less prestigious.
In satisfaction (Y1.2), the percentage of the youth's answers who agreed was 64.8%, meaning that the level of satisfaction of farm income is quite satisfactory. Simultaneously, 29.7% of youth stated the farm income was deemed insufficient. On the other hand, 5.5% of youths answered neutral. Youth considers the farm income is reasonably satisfactory. Farm income is able to provide sufficient savings, school fees, meals, and vacations. It is in line with research conducted by Fitriyana et al. (2018) stating that the income earned from working as a farmer can be sufficient to meet the needs of clothing, food, housing, education costs, and luxury goods as well as the allocation of time devoted to the income received is also quite balanced.
In the ability to cultivate agricultural land (Y1.3), the percentage of the youth's answers who agreed was 66%; they had more skills and insights in managing farming. Meanwhile, 20.8% of youths said they disagreed. It means that they do not have more skills or insights in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, 13.2% of youths answered neutral. Higher education makes young people have a more modern view of life. They also get insights to cultivate agricultural land from counseling activities, training, and others. It agrees with the research of Ibrahim et al. (2021) stating that counseling and intensive training programs should be emphasized to youth from rural area on integrated farming systems, integrated pest, disease management, technologies for soil and water conservation, as well as management of seedlings, productions, leadership and group dynamics.
In pleasure (Y1.4), the percentage of the answers of youth who agreed was 66%; they felt pleasure and freedom in living life while doing agricultural activities. Meanwhile, 31.8% of youths said they disagreed. It means that they are neither happy nor interested in farming. They may feel tired or bored. On the other hand, 2.2% of youths answered neutral. The majority of youth feel pleasure in doing farming activities. According to Syahadat et al. (2020), activities carried out continuously and directly practice, with a relaxed demeanor, make teenagers experiencing a pleasant atmosphere in learning agricultural science. They think farming can release fatigue, and farming is unbound by a rule. The reasons for farming for other activities consist of various reasons such as farming just for entertainment and farming because of having agricultural land still being worked on.

Convergent Validity
The output of the convergent validity analysis has met the assumption of convergent validity. Convergent validity criteria have been met by all variables with p-value <0.001 (<0.05) for all indicators.

Discriminant Validity
Based on table 10, it shows that the loading factor value of each indicator of each latent variable has a greater value than the loading factor value of other variables, so that the discriminant validity requirements can be met.  Figure 1, the R-square value is 0.69. It means the research model is very good because the value of R2 is 0.69 ≥ 0.67. These results were obtained from several variables of social status (X1), income (X2), land area (X3), education (X4), and age (X5) on perception (Y). It means that perceptions of youth can be explained well by variables of social status, income, land area, education, and age by 69%, and the remaining 31% is influenced by other factors. b. Hypothesis Test The results of data analysis employing the PLS method used WarpPls 7.0 software, and most of the research hypotheses were proven, including income (X2), land area (X3), and income (X4). Meanwhile, the other 2 hypotheses are not proven, including social status (X1) and age (X5). Hither are the values of path coefficient and P-value: Based on table 11, it indicates the results that hypothesis 1 is a test of the effect of social status on youth's perceptions of agriculture. The results show the coefficient of social status is 0.076, and the p-value is 0.231. The p-value of social status is 0.231 > 0.05, meaning that hypothesis 0 is accepted, or hypothesis 1 is rejected. This shows that the effect of social status on youth's perceptions is not significant. Youth highly appreciates jobs in the agricultural sector. It is in line with research conducted by Fitriyana et al. (2018) stating that working as a farmer is enough to improve social status in the community; they will considers a profession as farmer to be noble and quite proud.
Hypothesis 2 is a test of the effect of income on youth perceptions of the agricultural sector. The results show the coefficient value of income is 0.567, and the p-value is < 0.001. The p-value of income is 0.001 < 0.05, meaning hypothesis 1 is accepted. This shows that the effect of income on youth perceptions has a significant effect. Income significantly affects youth's perception of being involved in the agricultural sector. It is in line with the results of research conducted by Fitriyana et al. (2018) stating that the income earned from working as a farmer can be sufficient to meet the needs of clothing, food, housing, education costs, and luxury goods as well as the allocation of time devoted to the income received is also quite balanced.
Hypothesis 3 is a test of the effect of land area on youth perceptions of the agricultural sector. The results show the coefficient value of land area is 0.220, and the p-value is 0.014. The p-value of land area is 0.014 < 0.05, meaning hypothesis 1 is accepted. This shows that the effect of land area on youth perceptions has a significant effect. Youth believes that the land area managed, owned, or controlled greatly affects youth's perception of the agricultural sector. The majority of land area is included in the limited category, which can affect the youth's perception of the agricultural sector. It is in line with the results of research conducted by Ibrahim et al. (2021) stating that the narrower the land owned by their parents, the more interested and motivated youths from rural are are to farm. This is due to the wider area of farming land used, the higher the impact/risk of failure so that young farmers are reluctant to do farming in a large area of land. (Rosliana et al., 2020).
Hypothesis 4 is a test of the effect of education on youth perceptions of the agricultural sector. The results show the coefficient value of education is -0.184, and the p-value is 0.034. The p-value of education is 0.009> 0.05, meaning hypothesis 1 is accepted. This shows that the effect of education on youth perceptions has a significant effect. Youth's perception of agricultural sector is strongly influenced by education. It is in line with the results of research conducted by Dharmawan & Sunaryanto (2020) stating that the higher the formal education of the respondent, the less supportive his attitude towards work in agricultural sector. This result is also contrary to research by Oktavia & Suprapti (2020) stating that the lower the level of education, the worse the view of agriculture will be. It because youth thinks that if their education is low, job opportunities outside the agricultural sector are few, and they tend to work in the agricultural sector considered not prestigious. According to Sudrajat et al. (2020), the higher education the children of the farmer has, the more opportunity they have to get formal jobs such as civil servants or work in companies having incentives and guarantees for a better future.
Hypothesis 5 is a test of the effect of age on youth perceptions of the agricultural sector. The results show the coefficient value of age is -0.051, and the p-value is 0.312. The p-value of age is 0.082 > 0.05, meaning hypothesis 1 is rejected. This shows that the effect of age on youth's perceptions is not significant. It is in line with research by Tana et al. (2020) stating that there is no relationship between the age variable and perception variable of the agricultural work. Youth's perception of agricultural sector will not be affected by their age. They think that farming can be fun for any age, but they are not interested in working in the agricultural sector. The reason is due to the prestige of being a farmer, unclear income, and tiring or requiring extra time. It is in line with research conducted by Sudrajat et al. (2020) stated that the image of agricultural activities is less prestigious and unattractive. It additionally has a risk of failure and uncertainty in farming. Therefore, there is no guarantee of profit, stability of product prices, and unstable inputs. This will cause the continuity of uncertain income.

CONCLUSION
1. The youth's perception of the agricultural sector in Watukenongo in terms of the enthusiasm to do or continue farming was poor, or many of them disagreed. This is due to the work background of their parents in which they are private-sector employees. Youth's perceptions of the agricultural sector in Watukenongo in terms of farm income satisfaction can be said to be good, or many of them agreed. Farm income is sufficient for savings, school fees, daily meals, and vacations. The youth's perception of the agricultural sector in Watukenongo in terms of their ability to cultivate agricultural land can be said to be good, or many of them agreed. It is because many youths care and gain more insight on agricultural sciences from counseling, training, and others. The youth's perception of the agricultural sector in Watukenongo in terms of pleasure in doing farming activities is very good, or many of them agreed. It is because their souls feel free and unfettered by existing regulations, and according to them, farming can relieve fatigue or stress. 2. The factors affecting youth's perception on agricultural sector in Watukenongo were (1) income, (2) land, and (3) education in which these factors were significant. Meanwhile, social status and age did not have a significant effect.