Abstract The annual demand for beef has been increasing in Indonesia. One of the government strategies to develop cattle production and empower cattle farmers is by developing farmer groups to support farmers and promote entrepreneurship. This article explores the work of a farmer group called BPWU which employs internal and external social networking to empower farmers in the villages. The research questions are the following: (1) What are the strategies used by BPWU to develop its business? and (2) What are the impacts of BPWU existence in providing social changes to its surrounding population? The data were collected from July 2015 to December 2016 using interviews, observations, and focus group discussion. Based on the findings, the farmers’ livelihoods have improved because of the building of social relations internally and externally. The internal social relations were developed among cattle farmer groups related to BPWU, whereas the external social relations were built with local residents, educational institutions, officials of the Animal Husbandry of Tuban Regency, officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, financial institutions, and cattle traders from various areas. BPWU has managed to open work opportunities, impart a technological change in beef-cattle cultivation, increase the beef availability, and contribute to rural development.

中文翻译：

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社会关系在农村发展中的意义：以印度尼西亚的肉牛农民群体为例

摘要印度尼西亚对牛肉的年需求量一直在增长。政府发展养牛生产并赋予养牛户权力的战略之一是通过发展农民团体来支持农民和促进企业家精神。本文探讨了一个名为BPWU的农民组织的工作，该组织利用内部和外部社交网络来增强村庄中的农民的能力。研究问题如下：（1）BPWU用于发展其业务的策略是什么？（2）BPWU的存在对为其周围人口提供社会变革有什么影响？数据收集自2015年7月至2016年12月，采用访谈，观察和焦点小组讨论的方式。根据调查结果，由于内部和外部的社会关系的建立，农民的生活得到了改善。内部社会关系是在与BPWU有关的养牛户群体之间发展的，而外部社会关系是与当地居民，教育机构，图班摄政区畜牧业官员，农业部官员，金融机构和养牛商人建立的来自各个领域。BPWU设法创造了工作机会，对牛牛养殖进行了技术改造，增加了牛肉供应量，并为农村发展做出了贡献。