Factors Influencing the Low Demand for Salam Financing Contracts in Indonesia – Concept Paper

Salam financing is significant in the agricultural sector, especially for seasonal food crops. It has many benefits for the community, particularly for poor farmers, and it is appropriate in the agriculture sector. This paper aims to discuss the factors influencing the low demand for Salam financing contracts that are impactful to either buyer, the bank, or the seller, the farmer. This study adopts a qualitative approach, which includes reviews and analysis of secondary data in relevant literature and documents relating to Salam financing contracts in the Indonesian banking industry. The significant findings of this study are the identification of human resources in Islamic banks that should be improved in terms of their knowledge of Islamic banking products. It is crucial also to know how to innovate for a sustainable and implementable product. In order to address the challenges in Salam financing, it is proposed to reduce internal and external issues with Salam financing. This study adds new knowledge to the existing literature by optimizing the Salam contract in Islamic banking to overcome capital problems in the farming sector and collaborating with agricultural insurance to cover capital costs that farmers cannot pay when crop failure occurs. This study will recommend the methods to overcome the problems stated faced by Islamic banking, including using fintech to counter the issues.