Abstract: Rural agricultural development in Indonesia requires the collaboration of groups of farmers to build a comprehensive development program. When farmers unite in a group, they gain a strong bargaining position in relation to other agribusiness stakeholders. However, groups of farmers often cannot survive in the long term. This condition makes agricultural development or poverty reduction programs difficult to sustain. The Mekar Jaya Group is an interesting case because it is a group of farmers that has been able to survive over the long term. This paper describes the history of the Mekar Jaya Group’s process. The focus of discussion in this paper is the process of changes in the group’s development phases. Furthermore, this study examines the group’s motivational and affection factors. These include internal factors, external factors and the role of the leader. The results show that internal factors, such as members’ experience in caring for sheep, primarily contribute to group motivation.