Identification of Cultivated Plants and Income Analysis of Farmers on Peatlands and Mineral Lands in Sumber Bakti Village, Nagan Raya District, and Keub Village, Aceh Barat District

Abstract

Aceh Province is one of the Indonesian provinces blessed with abundant natural resources. Among these resources are peatland and mineral land. Both of these land types serve significant economic functions for the communities in the surrounding areas, especially for the farmers. This research aims to identify the cultivated crops on peatland and mineral land and calculate the income of farmers cultivating these two types of land. A paired sample t-test is employed to establish the significance of income differences between the two types of land. The research methodology involves surveys and interviews with farmers in Sumber Bakti Village and Keub Village. Sample collection was carried out using purposive sampling, considering human resource limitations, resulting in only one sample selected from each household. The researcher selected 15% of the total population as the sample, comprising 26 samples in Sumber Bakti Village, including 15 farmers on peatland and 11 farmers on mineral land. In Desa Keub, 35 samples were taken, consisting of 19 farmers on peatland and 16 on mineral land. The research findings reveal that not all types of crops are cultivated on peatland due to the differing characteristics between peatland and mineral land. Crops such as oranges, rubber, and oil palm are cultivated on peatland, while oil palm is the primary crop in both villages and land types. The results indicate that income from oil palm cultivation on peatland is higher than on mineral land. However, the maintenance of cultivated crops on peatland incurs higher costs than mineral land. Nevertheless, this cost is justified by the higher oil palm production on peatland. Those situations are attributed to the farmers' experience, knowledge, and efforts to manage peatland. The paired sample t-test results show a significance value of 0.002 < 0.10, indicating a significant relationship between the production outcomes of peatland and mineral land.