Family resilience of smallholder farmers in Indonesia’s oil palm plantation

Problems about family are still analyzed in general and do not specifically look at the livelihood aspect. Whereas from the social sciences lensed, livelihood is the main factor that significantly contributes to the resilience of family. One of the family issues which became a major problem in Indonesia is family resilience in the oil palm plantation context. Families in the plantation sector always have tremendous challenges either from internal, external, or structural layers. At the internal level, families have to bear with psychological and physical issues which may trigger them to become more vulnerable. From an external level, the work ambiance in palm plantations, as well as price fluctuation and access to financial capital, may threaten the families who work and live surrounding palm plantations. Furthermore, from a structural level, families have to deal with biased and unfair regulations which undeniably make them much poorer and more suffered. This study aimed to analyze the vivid condition of smallholder families in the oil palm plantation context and how they deal with those challenges. Besides, this study also aimed to formulate some strategies to make them become a resilient family. This study used qualitative methods, by conducting FGDs and in-depth interviews with smallholder farmers of oil palm plantations as key informants in two different plantation areas in Indonesia; Lampung and Kalimantan.


Introduction
The family is an important concept in the social sciences, particularly in demography and sociology.The family is widely recognized as a significant social institution and the center of much of an individual's social activity.It is a social unit formed by blood, marriage, or adoption that can be classified as nuclear (parents and children) or extended (parents and grandchildren).Sharma [32] through her study also mentioned that a family is a fundamental unit in various studies such as sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, and social psychiatry.However, until now there has been no agreement on the concept of universal family [1].The experts suggest the concepts and definitions vary regarding the family.It is widely recognized that the modern family has experienced considerable structural changes.A study by [22] mentioned that cultural developments have resulted 1306 (2024) 012027 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1306/1/012027 2 in a significant decrease in the percentage of classical "typical" families, namely "nuclear" families.Furthermore, childless families, single-parent families, and any other family configurations are based on non-marital.This argument has been rejected for decades, but some research has been undertaken to evaluate the premise.According to [3], family numbers may be shrinking and mobility may be affected by the dissolution of certain families, but the family remains a solid and stable social structure.
Families encounter several obstacles, difficulties, and stressors in their daily lives as a result of various aspects of life.Family stressors have the potential to undermine family resilience.Initially, the family's pressures were created primarily by factors within the family itself.As a result, the majority of the challenges/issues that disrupt resilience and cause problems in the family are mostly analyzed through the internal context, which is often associated with psychological characteristics.One example is the breakdown of the intact nuclear family structure as a result of divorce, which frequently results in behavioral disorders in some family members.Family issues, in particular, can contribute to psychological development disorders in children.Hence, behavioral changes in teenagers might have an impact on the internal cohesion of the household.At this stage, the family's stressors were then resolved using psychological approaches.
The study of family resilience is not categorized as a new issue.Several studies on this topic have been initiated in recent decades, especially since 'the great depression' arises in the late 1920s [24].Initially, family resilience was mostly considered in a psychological setting, with stressors viewed mainly from an individual's internal perspective.From this vantage point, it is also seen how individuals might maximize their ability to confront life's obstacles, including their ability to restore family functions to their original state in the face of crises and challenges [23].In addition to the global dynamic and development, the concept of family resilience is used in the context of changes or economic pressures such as the consequences of poverty, environmental degradation, disasters, and improvements in information and communication technology [12].The current trend is for these diverse pressures to become increasingly complex and interconnected with one another.
In the context of Indonesian culture, which is extremely diverse socially, economically, and culturally, understanding family resilience based on variability in family characteristics is critical.One of the approaches utilized in this study is to categorize families depending on their source of income.Livelihood can be defined as a method used by people to meet their necessities or to ensure their existence [7].Livelihoods are more than just income [9].they also involve the social institutions, gender relations, and property rights that are required for survival [10].The source of livelihood is multifaceted, and it is considered that it has a significant impact on a family's resilience.In the context of livelihood sources, it is obvious that the complexity of the stressors and pressures that exist affects a family's sustainability both directly and indirectly.As a result, family resilience cannot be separated from the influence of the surrounding community's resilience, and vice versa, community resilience will also contribute to family resilience.Each family, as a subsystem of the community system, can impact the larger community system.In turn, the current structure of society might have an impact on the subsystem inside it, especially the family.According to [27] social theory could be applied in this circumstance because it will explain the interaction (relationship) between units in a social structure that functions to carry out work mechanisms to attain particular goals.If anything shifts or changes in one part, it will affect other parts.

Materials and methods
Previously, family resilience studies have been conducted in general and have not addressed the issue of livelihood.The reciprocal relationship between family and livelihood has a significant impact on the family condition, whether the family will be classified as vulnerable or resistant to challenges.The plantation sector is an important livelihood to study from the perspective of family resilience.This is because families in the plantation sector encounter a variety of obstacles as a result of internal, external, and structural causes.Smallholder families in the oil palm plantation sector, for example, suffer internal obstacles, such as the head of the household being unable to work due to work accidents or health problems caused by exposure to harmful chemicals [9].Smallholder farmers experience similar issues in terms of external factors, such as price fluctuations, availability of plantation inputs and capital, and the legality of land ownership for independent smallholders [13,16,5].Government policy, for example, has made a huge impact on smallholder farmers.In Government Regulation No. 71/2014 concerning the Protection and Management of Peat Ecosystems, which is specified in Article 26 is clearly stated that burning peat forests when clearing land is prohibited.Although this action is very effective in reducing forest and land fires, a zero-burning policy on peat lands may be detrimental to local agricultural practice in the long run because prohibiting the use of fire to clear land raises the cost of preparing land for cultivation as well as repelling pests.Smallholder farmers must clear the area manually with machetes or sickles, allowing grass and tree debris to decay or decompose.This takes one to two months longer than conventional burning and, most importantly, it may be more expensive due to labor costs.
Furthermore, the government, academics, donor agencies, the private sector, and civil society organizations have not given serious attention to this issue.Until these days, studies about oil palm only addressed the plantation side in terms of profit, economics, and labor absorption.The issue of smallholder farmers is critical because there are so many conflicts over land, seasonal changes, and often uncertain prices for plantation commodities, all of which have a long-term impact on their family resilience.
Indonesia, one of the world's top palm oil producers, controls nearly half of the worldwide palm market [30].This is inextricably linked to the history and growth of oil palm in Indonesia.Since the 1990s, oil palm plantations have grown dramatically.Many of the previously uncultivated lands were later entered and managed by extractive businesses, particularly oil palm companies [8].This company has got a business license from the central government to operate for 15 to 25 years, with the possibility of extension.Oil palm plantations can be found from the western to the eastern part of Indonesia.According to [30], Sumatra and Kalimantan have the most widespread oil palm plantations.The largest covering the areas of Riau, North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra) and also East Kalimantan).These locations are appropriate for development into oil palm plantations because they have a good soil structure and geographical conditions for oil palm, with an altitude of less than 400 meters and a maximum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius.The massive development of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has occurred due to the support of RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) global policies, which are also applied through ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) national policies and regulations; this policy was developed to ensure the quality of palm oil will be exported as well as consumed domestically.Even though many community and environmental activists have expressed their concerns about the growth of Indonesian oil palm plantations, it is undeniable that this commodity has supported the livelihoods of 17 million Indonesians since the 1980s.
Academics and researchers have conducted numerous studies on family resilience.Beginning with a discussion of the idea of family resilience, the factors that influence family resilience, and the method through which a family can adapt and survive.So far, studies on family resilience have used a wide range of methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, cross-sectional surveys, descriptive analysis, and a mix of these methods [15].[20], for example, comprehends the concept of resilience by conducting a thorough literature evaluation on individual resilience about mental health concerns.Meanwhile, there are studies in the context of oil palm plantation families that use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as a multidisciplinary approach, to understand the adaptation strategies of oil palm migrant smallholders in Papua New Guinea to maintain food security for their families [17].
The issue of family resilience is being studied not only by Western scholars but also by numerous Asian researchers, especially those in Indonesia.[29] conducted one of them by doing a descriptive analysis of the resilience of young women as victims of human trafficking.[15], attempted to comprehend the notion of family resilience that has emerged thus far by performing literature evaluations from numerous sources, similar to what [20] did.[6] in their qualitative study addressing the motivation of smallholders to implement agroforestry practices, and as a result of their findings, they found that one of the main reasons to conduct agroforestry practices for smallholders farmers is to strengthen the resilience of their households.
Meanwhile, there are several approaches to understanding the theory of family resilience that has been developed thus far.Two of them are [37] systems theory, which is regarded from the perspective of the ecosystem which adopted the Family Resilience Model of [14].In this model, there are three stages (waves) for exploring the concept of family resilience and the various components involved in this process.The first stage (wave 1) is a more family-oriented approach, as shown in the individuals' resistance to coercion.The following stage or wave (wave 2) views family resilience as a comprehensive notion by highlighting the incidence of maladaptation to the pressures and risks encountered.Moreover, the third stage (wave 3) focuses on family adaptation systems and includes a multidisciplinary approach to testing how resilience mechanisms in varied ecosystems work.[14] conducted research that included a previous review of Walsh's family resilience theory.
Several studies have been conducted in Indonesia to measure family resilience, such as one developed by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection in collaboration with several academics and researchers.This study generates a family resilience index value based on a survey of Indonesian families.This index is consisting of 24 indicators organized into six categories: (1) legality and family structure; (2) physical endurance; (3) economic resilience; (4) social psychological resilience; (5) socio-cultural resilience; and (6) gender partnership.The National Family Planning Coordinating Board has also developed Family Development Indicators, which include legality, religion, health, education, economy, environment, socio-culture, and psychology.The eight dimensions are then transferred into metrics that can be used to assess a family's resilience.Aside from these two government bodies, the Center for Public Mental Health at Gadjah Mada University also conducting longitudinal research since 2015 to create a Family Resilience Index in the Special Region of Yogyakarta comprised of reflective and formative indicators.In this case, the effect of family resilience is assumed to be the effect of family resilience, which may include; (1) appreciation and affection for one another; (2) positive communication; (3) commitment to family; (4) enjoying time together; (5) feelings of spiritual well-being and shared values; and (6) the ability to manage stress and crises effectively.Meanwhile, formative factors such as the economy, health, education, and basic needs are thought to be the root causes of family resilience.These indicators are determined using strong theory and literature.The third study was used to collect data for calculating the index value.In general, studies aimed at measuring the index of family resilience in Indonesia, both those conducted by government agencies, namely the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection and the National Family Planning Coordinating Board, as well as universities, have attempted to include a very diverse family context in Indonesia.
This study used qualitative data collection techniques such as a literature review, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD).However, because of the current situation of the Coronavirus Diseases 19 pandemic crisis, field data collecting is being adjusted.This year's research, which focuses on understanding and developing the notion of family resilience in Indonesia, particularly in the oil palm plantation family, is mostly based on a review of literature from diverse sources.However, datagathering operations occurred at the research sites, which included Jakarta, Lampung, and Kalimantan.Because of the pandemic situation, data-gathering activities such as interviews and focus group discussions were conducted online around three times by engaging speakers with a variety of background knowledge and expertise in the fields.Smallholder farmers, labor union leaders for smallholder farmers, and academics who study agrarian and oil palm issues participated in group talks.In addition, several focus group discussions (FGDs) were held in the core team (Family Resilience team) to enhance viewpoints on the notion of family resilience.

Results and discussions 3.1 Family Stressor and Family Risk
Stressors are events that cause a variety of changes in the family [26].In simple terminology, stressors are threats to family life that induce stress; even beneficial changes can cause stress [31,4].Stressors jeopardize or disrupt the family system's balance.Stressors can be common or remarkable, depending on the family's coping mechanism.Thus, stressors are stimuli that cause adaptation needs to arise.This condition is coherent with [14], their understanding of stressors concerning the family stress theory and the family system, which could be assumed as challenges for family adaptation (such as disorders, tension, difficulty, ambiguity, or everyday family demands) [18] identified nine dimensions of family stressor events: (1) internal versus external, (2) pervasive versus limited, (3) rapid versus gradual onset, (4) intense versus mild, (5) transient versus chronic, (6) random versus expected, (7) natural versus artificial generation, (8) scarcity versus surplus, and ( 9) considered unsolvable versus deemed unsolvable.The nine dimensions are a variety of subject areas, each of which can be viewed as a separate continuum ranging from low to high, but they do not yet reflect a substantive analysis of the crisis, particularly in the political, economic, moral, social, religious, health, or sexual domains.Furthermore, because the dimensions are tangent to each other, they can be evaluated independently, but they can also be analyzed concurrently.Climate change or weather stressors, for example, that originate outside the family (external dimension), include a sudden onset (fast) or gradual onset dimension, as well as intense or mild; transient or chronic.As a result, the consideration of stressors in oil palm smallholder farmers in this research focuses on stressors with external and internal dimensions.

Family Vulnerability
Family vulnerability in Indonesian terms is always associated with a tremendous problem that might weaken the family.The concept of the Family Resilience Model which developed by [14].family vulnerability is one of the four basic elements that mutually process to form family resilience.Family vulnerability is a condition in which a family system is considered more likely to experience difficulties related to family risks [28,33].Since the 1970s, the focus of research, particularly on the health level, has switched from the study of disease, deficits, or fragility (vulnerability) to the study of strengths (resilience), presuming the individual can complete their problems [15].This is because family vulnerability is the opposite circumstance of family protection (full protection).Potential power or capacity within the family is a situation in which a family can adjust to any stressors in the face of daily difficulties to confront the risks that form a significant family [25,37].The inverse of this condition, the vulnerability of the family, is the family's weakness or inability to deal with stressors ranging from little to major risks.
The vulnerability of the family is inextricably linked to resource ownership.According to [31], the management of family resources determines a family's vulnerability.When family resources are managed properly, vulnerability is reduced and resilience is increased.As a result, some scholars who address the family through the livelihood approach always refer to resources as capital, capability, or assets.There are five major capitals in the livelihood approach [10]. 1) Natural capital, which includes land, water, animals, biodiversity, and environmental resources, among other things; 2) social capital, which includes networks, group participation, trust relationships, and access to community institutions; 3) Human capital, which includes abilities, knowledge, employability, and good health; 4) physical capital in the form of infrastructure, such as transportation, water, energy, and communications; 5) financial capital in the form of financial resources owned by everyone, such as savings, credit availability, regular money transfers, or pension funds.

Family Protection
Families are said to be resilient if they can adjust and even have better resilience in dealing with the various pressures (stressors) and risks that come with them; this has also happened to smallholder families who rely on the oil palm sector.Families who earned a living in the oil palm plantation sector face specific stressors and risks that may differ significantly from those who earned a living in the industrial sector, for example.Not to mention the family's vulnerability that adds to or exacerbates the existing risks.As stated in the previous sections, various stressors and risks, external and internal, as well as regulatory, were identified through literature research, group discussions, and interviews.External pressures include shifting palm oil prices, weather or climatic factors, and the Coronavirus 19 pandemic.Then there's the pressure from internal families, such as a lack of understanding among family members about oil palm management, the loss of non-palm oil livelihoods, and a lack of understanding of workplace safety.Meanwhile, from the regulations side, government-created rules or provisions, such as palm oil certification also made such contributions to family vulnerabilities.
Various risks occur in the oil palm plantation families as a result of these demands.Uncertain income, debt burden, decreasing productivity, loss of sources of income from oil and non-palm oil, trouble meeting necessities, loss of social networks, and risk of work safety are among the risks encountered by families of oil palm plantations.However, this family offers various safeguards or safeguards that, at the least, can be a solution to coping with all of these concerns.This research also identifies how the types of protection or protection a family have helps in the adaptation process to survive these risks.
The family resilience method considers the family to be one of the variables that can improve the development of protection or individual protection that supports everyday life at many levels of the family system [25].In the third stage of the model established by [14], multidisciplinary approaches such as sociology, psychology, and biology were utilized to assess how protection or protection mechanisms or resilience in varied ecosystems.A person's or family's ownership of family protection is a key factor in creating family resilience.According to previous research, cultural and spiritual protection or resources also support individual and family resilience [21,35].Furthermore, [36] argued that social networks, or social and community interactions, are resources for dealing with demands and obstacles in complex environments.
In the context of smallholder farmers and their families, the presence of a biological family member is one of the most important shields against the different pressures and risks that come with the territory.Other family members, such as brothers and sisters, play an essential part in boosting the planters' family's resilience.This is due to the existence of parties who assist in the cultivation of oil palm land, beginning with the initial care (grooming), cleaning, and fertilizing stages.This information was given by one of the informants, who are a smallholder of oil palm plantations in Central Lampung.Thus, according to the informant, a person who is very helpful in his oil palm plantation business is his elder brother, who has greater knowledge in this field.Although the informant's plantation is not as large as his brother's, only around 2 hectares, his brother always assists at times, both in terms of energy and information and understanding about oil palm.
In contrast to the smallholders in Central Lampung, who frequently rely on biological family, another oil palm farmer who participated in the discussion stated that assistance to cultivate oil palm plantations was always provided by paying workers (laborers).Informants also stated that they rarely requested assistance from children because most farmers sent their children to graduate school outside of the district and they did not stay at home.The current generation's ownership of children differs from that of their grandparents or parents.Currently, oil palm farmers in Paser District, East Kalimantan, limit the number of births to only 2-3 children, limiting the resources available to work in the garden.They would, on the other hand, prefer that their children not participate in the plantation tasks that they have been working on.In other words, oil palm plantation farmers in this area would choose to hire another individual to assist them in processing their oil palm plantation.

Family Adaptation
The adaptation or survival strategy is important to examine because it provides insight into how households manage and utilizes their resource and capital assets through certain activities.[11] found that a survival strategy is a person's ability to apply a set of methods to overcome numerous challenges that surround his/her existence; this problem-solving strategy is essentially the ability of all family members to manage their assets.Smallholder farmers' livelihood strategies usually can be divided into three types (active, passive, and networking strategies).But one of the survival strategies commonly used by poor farmers and landless farmers is an active strategy.They put all effort or energy to work in plantations to maximize family resources, but in this situation, capital is not included, because they do not have capital as a major asset.Based on those findings, it can be concluded that poverty is a factor that encourages farmers to adopt a survival strategy.
According to [2] and [11], survival or adaptation methods for overcoming economic shocks and pressures can be implemented in a variety of ways.The survival strategy is divided into three categories: active strategy, passive strategy, and network strategy, and those will be explained as follows; 1. Active strategy is a survival plan that utilizes all of its potentials.It can be implemented by extending working hours and taking on any available work possibilities to increase the family's income (for example; selling snacks or food in a house, working as a part-time helper for another family, etc.)Alternatively, one of the most viable ways is to urge wives or other family members to participate in oil palm plantation activities.2. Passive Strategy is a survival strategy that involves decreasing household expenses as revenue (for example reducing the costs for food, clothing, education, and so on).Farmers' typical passive method is to become accustomed to living frugally or modestly.Furthermore, this method is one way for the poor to survive, as their revenue is very low and unstable, forcing smallholder farmers and their families to prioritize essential requirements such as food over other demands.3. Network Strategy is a strategy that is conducted through the use of social networks.It could be accomplished by creating close relationships, both formal and informal, with the social and institutional systems (e.g.borrowing money from neighbors, borrowing in the shop or store, taking advantage of poverty programs, borrowing money from banks, etc.).Network strategy develops as a result of social interactions in society; social networks can assist poor families in times of financial emergency.In general, a network approach that is frequently used by poor rural people is to borrow money from family or neighbors.Borrowing or debt is a natural culture in the village community since the culture of cooperation and kinship is still extremely strong.

Conclusions
Understanding smallholder farmers and family resilience is critical in Indonesian oil palm plantations, which have a wide range of social, economic, and cultural settings.Of course, at this point, assessing their needs and constraints requires psychological as well as livelihood perspectives.These two aspects must be identified since, in the end, making them resilient requires reducing the stressor or risk, decreasing their vulnerabilities, improving their protective system, and expanding their adaptability mechanisms.Nonetheless, a stable and solid family foundation, as well as strong social cohesiveness and networks, are important variables in fostering family resilience.Because it is nearly impossible to develop a resilient family of smallholder farmers on oil palm plantations without these two variables.

Table 1 .
The largest oil palm plantation area in Indonesia.