COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLDS’ INCOME OF OIL PALM AND NON-OIL PALM PLANTATION WORKERS OF KURIPAN SUB-DISTRICT, BARITO KUALA REGENCY, INDONESIA

Abstract

Oil palm is a commodity expected to contribute significantly to the economy through the plantation industry. This industry has substantial potential to support economic growth and national development, particularly in terms of job creation. Barito Kuala Regency, situated under the provincial government of South Kalimantan, boasts a total oil palm plantation area of 21,582 hectares in 2022, distributed across almost all sub-districts, including Kuripan Sub-District. The presence of the oil palm plantation industry represents a significant opportunity for the local community to become the workforce, leading to a notable impact on the increased income of the surrounding population, especially in terms of household income growth. As indicated by Bangun (2018), the income of the community in Kuripan Sub-District has experienced a higher increase compared to other sectors. Apart from oil palm plantations, land use in Kuripan Sub-District includes settlements, forests, rice fields, and shrubland. Consequently, some communities utilize it for livelihoods beyond the oil palm sector, such as logging for galam wood, rattan harvesting, purun collection, and farming. They consider these activities sufficient to meet their daily household needs. Both the oil palm plantation sector and non-oil palm plantation sector have become the backbone of household livelihoods in Kuripan Sub-District, contributing to household prosperity. This research has the objective to analyze the structure and income differences between households working in oil palm plantations and those in non-oil palm plantations in Kuripan Sub-District, Barito Kuala Regency. The research data consist of primary and secondary data. Sampling was done using a simple random method, resulting in a sample of 79 households. The household income of oil palm plantation and non-oil palm plantation workers was calculated based on their occupations, and an analysis of income differences between the two groups was conducted using the independent sample t-test method. The annual household income of non-oil palm plantation workers is Rp 42,822,913/year, with the husband's income being Rp 34,659,826/year and the wife's income being Rp 8,163,087/year. The structure of household income is organized based on the type of work, with income details from galam wood seekers (64.34%), sand laborers (12.13%), purun craftsmen (9.94%), rattan leaf harvesters (7.50%), farmers (4%), daily casual laborers in oil palm (1.06%), and educators (0.49%). The test results show a probability value (sig.) of 0.002, which is smaller than the significance level of 0.01. Therefore, the conclusion is that there is a difference between the household income of oil palm plantation workers and non-oil palm plantation workers, rejecting H0 and accepting H1.

Keywords

• comparative study
• household
• income
• oil palm
• non-oil palm