Living Income Scoping Activity of Cocoa Farmers' Income in Central Sulawesi and South Sulawesi

Palu, February 12, 2022—Most areas in Sulawesi are often referred as national center of cocoa production. The data of Indonesian Statistic showed that in 2020, this region contributed about 59.4% of the total national cocoa production. This growth was supported by the distribution of the main cocoa plantations in South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi.

Given that the number of smallholder cocoa farmers who depend their source of income is very high, their welfare must also be a major concern for stakeholders in this sector. It is hoped that the cocoa sector will become the main source of income for cocoa farmers spread across several regions in Indonesia.

In line with this, in the last few years, the Cocoa Sustainability Partnership with its members and strategic partners has initiated a study to see further the livelihood conditions of smallholder cocoa farmers in the cocoa production development center in Sulawesi. The study is to look at the gap between the income of farmers from the cocoa sector and their daily expenses for their daily needs.

Before heading in that condition, CSP implemented an initial study to look at the livelihood conditions of smallholder cocoa farmers in Central Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. The living income scoping will be used as the basis for carrying out activities in calculating the overall gap between farmers' income and expenditure in daily life. The implementation of this initial activity was carried out by two CSP consultants from Prasetiya Mulya University, Jakarta.

This scoping was carried out in Sigi District and Parigi Moutong District in Central Sulawesi and North Luwu District in South Sulawesi. Generally, this study aimed to obtain a basic description of the dietary of cocoa farming families, housing conditions, access to transportation, access to health, and access to education. In addition, some additional information was also collected through the focus group discussion of several farmer groups in each region.

After completing the living income scoping, the consultant will continue activities in the form of field research to collect primary data. These data will be used to calculate all the costs incurred by cocoa farming families for their daily lives, and will also complement the data that has been collected during this initial scoping process.

The cocoa farmers' living income study in calculating the income and expenditure of farming families initiated by CSP is supported by GIZ, Swisscontact, Rikolto, and other members and strategic partners to be implemented in several regions in Indonesia. (CSP/AH)