Moving towards plantations: farmers^ response to non-burning agricultural policy in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia Agung Wibowo (a*), Fernando Lumban Batu (a), Nursiah (a)
a) Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Palangka Raya, Indonesia.
*agungwi[at]for.upr.ac.id
Abstract
Farmers in Central Kalimantan province have become accustomed to using limited and controlled fires for agricultural purposes. Slash-and-burn agriculture in the province was legal under Governor^s Regulations No. 52/2008 until it was completely banned, following the devastating fire event in 2015. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the ban on land use and farmers^ income in Pulang Pisau region, Central Kalimantan. Primary data were collected in October 2020 through interview and field observation. Respondents were farmers from two different villages, namely the transmigration village (Muara Talio) and the local village (Pangkoh Hulu), with 15 farmers interviewed in each village. We compared the changes in land use and farmers^ income from these lands before and after the policy, namely in 2014 and 2017. The results showed that the average size of landholding in Muara Talio was about 3.5 ha/farmer, while in Pangkoh Hulu it was about 3.7 ha/farmer. The land allocation for agriculture, plantation and wastelands in Talio Muara was about 53%, 45%, and 2%, respectively, before the policy and changed to 9%, 65%, and 26%, respectively, after the policy came into effect. On the other hand, land use for agriculture, plantation and wastelands in Pangkoh Hulu changed from 54%, 27%, and 9% in 2014 to 34%, 44%, and 22% in 2017. The average income from agricultural activities in Talio Muara decreased by 8% in 2017 compared to 2014, while the average income of farmers in Pangkoh Hulu increased by 13% during the same period. Local farmers are more adaptable to non-burning agricultural policy than transmigrant farmers although they are less productive than the transmigrants.
Keywords: Land use change- Income- Local farmers, Transmigrants, Non-fire policy, Agriculture
