Agrarian structure transformation and social differentiation on peasant community (Case study on four Cocoa Farmer Communities in Central Sulawesi and Nangroe Aceh Darussalam)

Abstract

This research analyses about how and how far the transformation of mode of production and agrarian structure within cacao-base peasant community imply to social differentiation and welfare status of the farmers”. The research uses a “multiple case study” approach in four cacao peasant communities, i.e.: two communities in Central Sulawesi and the other two in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD). The result shows that capitalism enters the communities by ‘permeating’ (not eliminating) through various new activities, and then produced a ‘transitional’ mode of production. In this case, farmers in those four communities operate in several but different, yet simultanously, mode of productions, i.e.: elements of non-capitalistic mode of production, elements of capitalistic mode of production, and elements of a combination between capitalist and non-capitalist mode of production. In addition, the farmers have been practicing those mode of productions with an “amphibian” strategy. This changing mode of production has paved a way for a transformation process of agrarian structure, which is from collective ownership to individual ownership. Nevertheless, a persistence of moral-traditional social relation of production (particularly takes form as ‘temporary holding’), has resulted a social differentiation in peasant community that is called as ‘unequal-stratification’ of an agrarian social structure. This social structure is differentiated in many layers, from a single status layer (land owner, tiller, and labor) to combination of layers (of those three statuses). Moreover, this emerging social structure is also accompanied by a further inequality in agrarian resource ownership. Along with such social differentiation, a differentiation in farmers’ welfare also occurs, which is signified by the emerging layer of wealthy, medium and poor farmers. This research also demonstrates that farmers with different ethnicity background possess relatively equal capacity in resisting the influence of capitalism. In this case, what happens is a formation of commodity - driven relation of production, not ethnics - driven relation of production.