Indonesia Dominated by Small-scale Farmers, According to BPS Study

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Statistics Indonesia's (BPS) integrated agriculture survey for 2021 revealed that 72.19 percent of Indonesia’s farmers were recorded to be living under the poverty line. These small-scale farmers averagely generate Rp5.23 million in income annually. As a comparison, the average annual income of large-scale farmers reaches Rp22.98 million.

BPS deputy of statistics M. Habibullah said the number was below the national poverty line of Rp535.547 monthly income.  

“There are many things that can be analyzed based on this data; about farmers disparity, income distribution, and link it back to the Gini ratio,” said the statistics deputy at the Ombudsman headquarters on Tuesday, March 7.

People who are classified as small-scale farmers are those who only have a maximum of 2 hectares of land with a maximum of 3 livestock. The largest number of small-scale farmers are concentrated on Java Island with 58.18 percent. 

The highest number of small-scale farmers on Java Island is concentrated in East Java at 20.08 percent, followed by Central Java at 18.13 percent and West Java at 14.85 percent.

The second largest number of small-scale farmers are on the island of Sumatra with a percentage of 20.29 percent, followed by 6.89 percent in Sulawesi, 7.45 percent in Bali, and Nusa Tenggara, 4.41 percent in Kalimantan, and 2.78 percent in Maluku and Papua.

The five provinces with the lowest average income start with Papua, which has an average daily income of Rp60,584. It is followed by South Kalimantan with Rp87,797, Jakarta with Rp105,385, Central Sulawesi with Rp110,190, and NTT with Rp116,543.

The highest average income of small-scale farmers in Riau can collect up to Rp310,747 per day, which is followed by Central Javan farmers that collect a daily average income of Rp298,893, Lampung Rp297,295, North Kalimantan Rp286,096, and Bengkulu Rp270,830. Agriculture amounts to 28.61 percent of the total working population of 135.3 million people. 

RIANI SANUSI PUTRI

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