Feasibility Study of Zero Burning Peatland Agriculture in Mempawah District, West Kalimantan

Abstract

Abstract One of the crucial peatland degradation drivers in West Kalimantan is the practice of small-scale burning of agricultural land preparation, a risky low-cost and fast solution for local farmers. The Indonesian Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency has implemented a livelihood revitalization program for community through an environment friendly farming, as one of 3R (rewetting, revegetation, and revitalization) approaches in peatland restoration strategy. Revitalization is intended to increase community income and to reduce environmental problem in peatland. This paper aims to present the financial analysis of zero burning horticultural cultivation practices with a quantitative descriptive approach. The result showed that the benefit cost ratio value is 1.50 which indicates that every USD 1 of costs incurred for horticulture cultivation without burning will get a profit of USD 1,5. Payback period is obtained a value of 1.30 years or 1 year 4 months which indicates that the capital spent on cultivation has returned in a very short period. This study concluded that horticultural cultivation on peatland without burning is feasible. Therefore, providing incentives for land preparation and agricultural facilities at the beginning step were needed.