Income and welfare level of cassava farmers during covid-19 pandemic era in Lampung Province

Abstract

Indonesia is currently experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic which first started in March 2020. This outbreak continuously spreads throughout the regions including Lampung Province and has adversely affected economic activity of the society which included household income and welfare of cassava farmers. This study aims at analyzing the level of household income and welfare of cassava farmers during Covid-19 Pandemic Era in Lampung Province. This study applied survey method and conducted in the Regency of Central Lampung and East Lampung as cassava production center area in Lampung Province. A total of 120 people consisted of 60 people from each regency were selected through the method of simple random sampling. Data collection was conducted in July 2020. Data analysis was done using quantitative descriptive method. The level of household welfare of cassava farmers was analyzed according to the indicator of BPS, and Sajogyo. Result of the study showed that farmers experienced problems in accessing capital, production facility, and market of product during the Covid-19 era. Income gained from cassava farming dominated household income. However, there were only 31,67 percent of cassava farmers in Central Lampung and 5 percent in East Lampung who were classified as non-poor, while the rest were found to be near-poor and suffered from poverty. Food expenditure still dominated the total household expenditure and expenditure for personal hygiene was non-food expenditure that was considered quite high.