Social protection for climate-disasters: A case study of the program Keluarga Harapan cash transfer program for smallholder farm household in Indonesia

Abstract

Households living in poverty have a double burden when the adverse impact of natural disasters disrupts their livelihoods. Additionally, households relying on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture and natural resources, have fewer resources to cope with climate change. Subsequently, external support, such as social protection, is needed to protect their assets and livelihoods. An example of social protection designed to strengthen the livelihoods of households living in poverty during disasters is the Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) cash transfer program in Indonesia. This study analyzes how the PKH contributes to disaster management in Indonesia with two objectives: identifying whether the PKH program helps smallholder farm households (SFH) in developing coping strategies for climate change-related disasters and determining which factors of the PKH program enhance coping strategies among SFH. A mixed-method approach using a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was applied to a dataset created from SFH questionnaire samples, followed by in-depth interviews. According to the results, the PKH cash transfer program directly impacted the coping strategies and indirectly impacted the livelihood capital of SFH. Furthermore, the results indicated the key factors that support coping strategies, to which PKH contribute through counseling or mentoring sessions and provide access to other assistance and aid.