Subsistence farmers' access to cattle via sharing in Upland farming systems in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

In the marginal upland areas of East Java, Indonesia, ruminants provide farming households with tradable assets in addition to manure and draught power. Households are interested in acquiring ruminants at an early stage of household development. This paper discusses farmers' access to cattle via sharing arrangements. In these arrangements owners lend animals to other farmers in return for a share of the offspring or the profits. Livestock owners only entrust cattle to households with prior experience in livestock keeping and sufficient labour. Details of the sharing contracts differ between villages. Changes in cattle numbers and ownership over time are attributed to patterns of the development of village agriculture and the economic development of farming households. Feed shortages in the dry season bring about shortterm changes; cattle numbers decline and the proportion of households rearing shared cattle increases. The institution of sharing plays a major role in replenishing herds after periods of severe drought.