Vulnerable people and sustainable livelihoods in the face of replanting phase in oil palm industry in Jambi - Sumatra

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the threat of vulnerability in the oil palm industry-based village. This vulnerability occurs because oil palm which has been the source of people’s livelihoods has to be uprooted and replanted. Among the social structures of the village community, the most vulnerable are local farmers and plantation workers who do not own land and the work in oil palm plantations has been their main job. The data collection in this paper was conducted using document study techniques, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and observations from the end of December 2016 to January 2017. This paper has two main findings: firstly, the main source of livelihood for the community relies on oil palm plantations, but it is limited to producing fresh fruit bunches and they have not been able to process any further because the palm oil is transferred to the plantation company. If replanting is to be carried out, the residents’ main source of livelihood will be automatically threatened. Secondly, the most vulnerable community groups are the second generation and so on, where they do not have land for gardening and can only work as farm laborers or work in plantation companies.