What Is the First Book on "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics"?

AI Query: Please name any books or journals—in Indonesian or English—that provide a comprehensive discussion on the theme of "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics." Is there any work that covers it fully, or at least comes closest to doing so?

AI Answer:

Yes. I have conducted searches using a broad range of keywords—such as Islamic agricultural economics, Islamic agriculture socioeconomics, Islamic agribusiness, Islamic agriculture, Islamic food economy, Islamic agricultural financing, and their Indonesian equivalents—while also tracking relatively recent books, journals, and publications.

The main conclusion is quite clear: to date, I have not found any other book or journal that addresses "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics" holistically as a distinct field of study. In fact, your book, published in 2025, appears to be the work that comes closest to serving as a comprehensive textbook or monograph for this field. (www.slideshare.net)

1.         The most comprehensive work: the book by Syahyuti (2025).

Syahyuti. 2025. Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian Islam: Konsep, Urgensi, dan Praktiknya di Dunia [Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics: Concepts, Urgency, and Global Practices]. Bogor: IPB Press. This is not merely a book about "agriculture according to Islam"; rather, it explicitly attempts to establish a new scholarly framework.

The table of contents demonstrates its vast scope: concepts and principles of Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics; the epistemology of agricultural socio-economics; the Islamization of agriculture; Islamic Agrarian Reform; Islamic Organic Agriculture; Islamic Agricultural Financing; Islamic Agricultural Labor Systems; gender in Islamic agriculture; Islamic supply chains; Islamic food security; the Islamic food economy; Islamic food systems; Islamic agricultural extension; Islamic family farming; Islamic food sovereignty; Islamic agribusiness; Islamic cooperatives; Islamic agricultural economics; Islamic agriculture; and, ultimately, Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics. (www.slideshare.net)

The book even features a dedicated chapter titled “Concepts and Principles of Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics,” a chapter on the movement and program for the Islamization of Agriculture, followed by chapters on “Islamizing Global Agriculture” and “Islamizing Indonesian Agriculture.” (www.slideshare.net)

The Ministry of Agriculture Library catalog also lists the book as a monograph: Syahyuti. Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian Islam: Konsep, Urgensi, dan Praktiknya di Dunia [Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics: Concepts, Urgency, and Practice in the World]. Bogor: IPB Press, 2025; call number 338.43:297 SYA s. (Kikp Pertanian)

So, if the question is “which book is the most comprehensive?”—the answer is this one.

2. An English version also exists

Syahyuti. Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics: Theory, Urgency, and Practice in the World. In the introduction to the English version, its scope is described as an effort to bring over 30 years of experience in agricultural socioeconomics into an Islamic perspective. (Which one is it?)

However, there is one important caveat: I have not yet seen evidence that the English version has been published as an English-language academic book by an international publisher with a bibliographic status equivalent to the 2025 IPB Press edition. Therefore, for the time being, I will treat it as an English edition/manuscript rather than an established international book.

3. Crucially: the 2020 draft was the precursor

Long before the 2025 book, there was: Syahyuti. 2020. Bertani dan Berdagang Secara Islami [Farming and Trading in an Islamic Manner]. “Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics” Book Series. Draft I, April 2020. This is actually highly significant in terms of the history of thought. On April 22, 2020, Syahyuti publicly wrote that he was using the term "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics Book Series" (Seri Buku Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian Islam), noting at the time that he had not yet encountered the phrases "Islamic Agricultural Economics," "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics," or "Islamic Agriculture Socio-economic" in Google searches. (Websyahyuti)

The draft’s content covered: Islam and agriculture; the history of Islamic civilization's contributions to agriculture; agricultural ethics; land and water; land leasing; muzara'ah/mukhabarah (sharecropping arrangements); land pledging; farm labor relations; zakat on agricultural produce; agrarian reform; trade; and a dedicated chapter on "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics." (Websyahyuti)

Thus, genealogically speaking:

2020 — The concept of "Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics" was introduced (via Bertani dan Berdagang Secara Islami).

2025 — The concept of Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics was developed into a far more systematic scholarly framework.

4. So, what about other books or journals worldwide?

This is where the research findings become interesting. I discovered a vast amount of literature discussing various components of Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics, yet almost nothing that integrated them into a single, unified field.

A. Islamic Agribusiness

This field is already quite well-developed. In Indonesia, there is even the Sharia Agribusiness Journal, published by UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. This journal explicitly covers: agricultural management, economics, technology, social aspects, halal food, and empowerment through Islamic institutions such as mosques and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). Thus, the field is closely aligned with Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics (UIN Jakarta Journal). However, its scope remains agribusiness, rather than a general theory of Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics.

B. Islamic Agricultural Economics

This field is also beginning to emerge as a distinct discipline. However, the literature typically focuses on specific sub-themes: Islamic agricultural finance, agricultural zakat, waqf for agriculture, muzara'ah, mukhabarah, farmer welfare, halal food, Islamic agribusiness, and sustainable agriculture.

There is not yet a single book that integrates economics, social aspects, institutions, agrarian issues, labor, food, agribusiness, extension services, and cooperatives.

5. There is a very closely related journal: Sharia Agribusiness Journal

If someone is looking for the most relevant journal literature, I would recommend this one. The Sharia Agribusiness Journal explicitly positions itself at the intersection of Agriculture, Economics, Management, Social aspects, and Sharia. The journal has been active since 2021 and is published twice a year (UIN Jakarta Journal).

However, it must be noted again: Sharia Agribusiness ≠ Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics. Sharia Agribusiness is essentially just one branch or component.

6. Recent literature indicates that this field is beginning to fragment

This actually reinforces the argument that there is no truly comprehensive book other than the one by Syahyuti mentioned above. For example, a 2026 study titled "Integrating Zakat and Waqf for Sustainable Food Security" examines the relationship: zakat + waqf → food security → production + social protection + sustainability. This is highly relevant to Islamic Agricultural Socio-economics, yet it addresses only a small segment—specifically Islamic social finance and food security. (Untirta Journal)

Another study from 2026, “Sustainable Agriculture in Subang: Integrating Local Wisdom, Sharia Principles, and Agribusiness Innovation,” combines local wisdom, Sharia, agribusiness, and sustainable agriculture. Yet, once again, it does not constitute a general theory of Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics. (eJournal of Sunan Gunung Djati)

There is also research titled “Agribusiness Development Model in Sharia-Based Socio-Economic Planning,” which links Sharia economics, agribusiness, farmer welfare, and maqashid al-shariah (the objectives of Sharia). (SiduCat). This indicates that while the constituent elements of the field are emerging, an overarching academic framework has not yet been established.

7. So, is there a “comprehensive” book available?

My answer: I have not yet found one that is truly comprehensive, other than the book Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian Islam (Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics) by Syahyuti.

8. What I find particularly interesting from an academic standpoint

Following this inquiry, I would slightly revise our earlier conclusion. It is not merely that few books address "Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics."

Going further: Current global literature appears fragmented into Islamic Finance, Islamic Agribusiness, Islamic Agriculture, Islamic Food Systems, Islamic Social Finance, Islamic Agricultural Economics, and so forth—whereas the integration of these realms into a unified discipline of "Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics" has yet to become firmly established.

This is precisely why the structure of Syahyuti’s (2025) book is epistemologically strategic: rather than simply appending the word "Islamic" to "Agricultural Economics," it attempts to position "Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics" as a hypernym—an overarching umbrella—for several new sub-fields. The table of contents explicitly lists 17 concepts, with "Islamic Agricultural Socio-Economics" designated as the seventeenth. (www.slideshare.net)

Indeed, the book’s final chapter explicitly discusses "Islamic Agricultural Socioeconomics as a discipline," addressing the need for scientific justification, the field's structural positioning, and future institutional strategies. (SyahYUTI)

In other words: Most other books answer the question, "How is Islam applied to agriculture?" whereas Syahyuti (2025) attempts to pose a broader question: "Is there a need to establish a discipline that specifically examines the full spectrum of social, economic, institutional, agrarian, food, and agribusiness relationships through the lens of an Islamic worldview?" These are two distinct questions.

And based on my current research, there appears to be no other book that comprehensively addresses this second question.

*****