Too busy to farm: Under‐utilisation of farm land in central Java

Abstract

In two hamlets (dukuh) in south central Java, a series of situations have been identified in which some farm‐land is now being used less intensively than other, similar land. In an area of such high population density this appears a paradox. Although a variety of explanations exist for the less intensive use of farm‐land, where household livelihood strategies are highly diversified ‐ as in central Java ‐ and where a wide range of non‐farming work exists, the intensity of use of farmland may be declining for some households.

Notes

Senior Lecturer in Geography, University of Leeds. The research on which this article is based was carried out during the tenure of a Senior Research Fellowship in the Department of Human Geography at the Australian National University and in collaboration with staff of the Faculty of Geography, Gadjah Mada University. The research was authorised through the good offices of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).