Vulnerability of smallholder farmers and their preferences on farming practices in Buol District, Indonesia

The majority of residents of Buol District in Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia depend on farming for their livelihoods. Similar to those in other poor districts in Indonesia, the smallholders in Buol are vulnerable to hazards and shocks, whether related to climate or socio-economic-political changes. Programs are carried out by the government and development agencies to improve the smallholders’ resilience to those shocks and hazards.This paper analyses vulnerability perceptions of female and male smallholders in Buol. The analysis of vulnerability includes productivity fluctuation of commodities and the shocks, exposure, response and impact smallholders experience with extreme events. Further, to see the potential of increasing smallholders’ resilience through agricultural activity, the paper discusses smallholders’ criteria for selecting tree and crops, and actual preferences for tree and crop species based on those criteria.The study was conducted in three cluster sites of the Climate-smart, Tree-based, Co-investment in Adaptation and Mitigation in Asia (Smart Tree-Invest) project in Buol District, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The vulnerability assessment was conducted using a focus-group discussion approach while preferences for trees and crops were analysed using the Analytical Hierarchical Methodology (AHP).The community in the upstream cluster stated that water scarcity was one of the main problems owing to unavailability of a technical irrigation system in their area, thus, they were highly dependent on rainfall. In the midstream cluster, the community perceived floods as their main problem, which began after dam construction that altered the direction of river flow. The smallholders in the coastal zone faced the threat of coastal abrasion owing to mangrove degradation. Regarding productivity fluctuation, coconut productivity was the most resilient during extreme events while cacao was perceived as the most vulnerable commodity because its productivity tended to fluctuate during years with extreme events.The top three priority criteria for selection of trees and crops were land suitability; household income; and ease of maintenance. These were selected by all groups across all clusters. The five main commodities prioritized by farmers in all clusters were cacao, coconut, rice, clove and coffee.For each agricultural problem identified, smallholders had already undertaken actions and were considering other potential solutions. Recognizing these major problems and the ideal responses perceived by farmers is essential for providing effective solutions to improve farmers’ resilience in these clusters.

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