Compensating the Swidden Agriculture Peasants

Iwan Meulia Pirous and Iis Sabahudin

Gaia Consulting, Bogor – Indonesia

Lacking factory-made fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, swidden agriculture is proven adaptive,
sustainable, less polluting and economically viable for small peasants in various parts of Southeast
Asia. Alas, swidden agriculture was never looked important due to hegemony of modern-scientific
agriculture system at policy level. Low productivity, unclear tenurial system, and ecologically harmful
are popular misleading beliefs that marginalise swidden peasants everywhere.

The agricultural activities of West Kalimantan are inseparable from long standing swidden
agriculture tradition which has being practised since many generations ago. However, being
unrecognizable as sustainable cultural activities, swidden agriculture peasants in Kalimantan are
constantly put into lot of pressure by the Indonesian government. In 2015 the government through
presidential instruction no 11 issued a ban on burning land and forest as political response to
regional political pressures from neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is accused of
causing air pollution due to smoke from uncontrolled fires related to plantation and agricultural
activities. The presidential instruction is considered generally applicable to all types of fire.
According to satellite data, most of the hotspots comes from oil palm plantation concessions, not
from peasant’s farmland. Prohibition of burning disrupts the economic activities of the villagers
because they can no longer subsistence living to rely on agricultural products. The economy is
shifting towards high consumption causing poverty and social vulnerability as happened in many
parts of West Kalimantan.

Based on ethnographical research, the field burning activity occurs only at the beginning of the rainy
season and run very briefly (less that 2 hours) and under control. The rest activities of the swidden
peasants are taking care of the fields and making other livelihoods such as fishing and hunting that
do not produce smoke. However, non-fire activities which also means the contribution of cultivators
in maintaining the air quality is never recognised.

This paper proposes the idea of compensation for environmental services to swidden agriculturalists
based on the assumption that burning activities are not comparable with their efforts to protect
forests around their own farmland. The family cost of food daily consumption increases dramatically
soon after the ban was made effective and has created household economy crisis. By calculating the
peasant’s contribution service in maintaining forests and recognising the increase of household cost,
we can provide policy input to compensate farmers by protecting their traditional customs of
swiddening activity as part of their cultural rights which at the same time protecting the forest.

Keywords: swidden agriculture, ethnography, environmental service, forest fires