LAYING DUCK FARMING BUSINESS MAINTAINS THE STRUGGLE  LIKUDENGEN FARMERS UNION (STL) IN CENTRAL SULAWESI

The Likudengen Farmers Union (STL) in North Luwu Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, has a long history of resistance to land grabbing by state-owned palm oil companies. The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPASince 2018, STL has been pushing for land reclamation efforts through the Priority Locations for Agrarian Reform (LPRA) scheme. However, there has been no certainty regarding land ownership rights from the state for STL members.

Amidst this uncertainty, STL initiated a community-based economy as a survival strategy while simultaneously restructuring land management within the Advanced Village Agrarian Reform (Damara) scheme. This community-based economic initiative involved establishing a laying duck farm. They purchased 500 laying ducks to start the business. They also built supporting infrastructure such as pens, water tanks, and feed troughs. Because this was a relatively new venture, STL members, consisting of women, youth, and men, received training on duck farming.

During the initiative's implementation, STL members faced internal challenges. The first challenge involved convincing STL members, who had long been accustomed to working in the plantation sector, about egg-laying duck farming and its economic potential. The second challenge involved balancing the work time of caring for the egg-laying ducks with the members' other activities. Both challenges were overcome through outreach and in-depth analysis of the egg-laying duck farming business, as well as creating a schedule that fit the members' timeframes.

This egg-laying duck farming initiative has had a direct impact on an area of ​​6.262 hectares. The initiative also impacts the 2.026 people living in Uraso Village. Most importantly, however, the emergence of this egg-laying duck farming business has provided STL, both as an organization and as individual members, with additional income beyond their work as plantation laborers. The restructuring initiative with the DaMaRa scheme should be seen as an effort by the farmers' union to develop a survival strategy during the resistance process.