PATRON–CLIENT RELATIONS AS LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES AMONG SMALL-SCALE COASTAL SALT FARMERS IN INDONESIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.4656Palabras clave:
Livelihood Strategies, Coastal Communities, Market Uncertainty, Informal Arrangements, Salt FarmingResumen
Small-scale salt farming livelihoods in coastal areas are characterized by persistent production and market uncertainty driven by climatic variability and unstable pricing conditions. This study examines how patron–client relations operate as livelihood strategies among small-scale salt farmers in coastal Indonesia, with particular attention to how these relations shape the management of production and market risks over time. The analysis adopts a livelihood-oriented perspective that emphasizes adaptive capacity as a process expressed through everyday household decisions rather than as a fixed outcome. Data were collected through a household survey of salt farming households operating with and without patron attachment in coastal areas of Madura Island. The results show that exposure to climatic disruption and price volatility is widespread across households, indicating that uncertainty is a structural feature of salt farming livelihoods. Differences in livelihood outcomes emerge not from unequal risk exposure, but from how households organize access to capital, markets, and support through different livelihood arrangements. The findings indicate that patron–client relations function as informal mechanisms that allow households to buffer and delay the immediate impacts of production and market shocks by converting short-term losses into deferred obligations. While these arrangements support short-term livelihood continuity, they do not eliminate uncertainty and involve trade-offs related to market autonomy and long-term dependence. The study highlights the importance of understanding social relations as integral components of livelihood strategies and offers insights for coastal livelihood governance that recognize both the role and the limits of informal risk management practices.
Citas
Aldi, D., Nurhayati and Putri, E.I.K. (2021a) ‘Resiliensi dan adaptasi petani garam akibat perubahan iklim di Desa Donggobolo, Kecamatan Woha, Kabupaten Bima’, Jurnal Pengelolaan Lingkungan Berkelanjutan (Journal of Environmental Sustainability Management), 5(1), pp. 604–618. Available at: https://doi.org/10.36813/jplb.5.1.604-618.
Aldi, D., Nurhayati and Putri, E.I.K. (2021b) ‘The vulnerability of salt farmer houses in Donggobolo Village due to climate changes’, Jurnal Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Alam dan Lingkungan, 11(2), pp. 298–308. Available at: https://doi.org/10.29244/jpsl.11.2.298-308.
Andrews, N. et al. (2021) ‘Oil, fisheries and coastal communities: A review of impacts on the environment, livelihoods, space and governance’, Energy Research and Social Science, 75. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102009.
Azizi, A., Manadiyanto, M. and Koeshendrajana, S. (2017) ‘Dinamika Usaha, Pendapatan Dan Pola Pengeluaran Konsumsi Petambak Garam Di Desa Pinggirpapas, Kecamatan Kalianget, Kabupaten Sumenep’, Jurnal Sosial Ekonomi Kelautan dan Perikanan, 6(2), p. 205. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15578/jsekp.v6i2.5774.
Basurto, X. et al. (2020) ‘Governing the commons beyond harvesting: An empirical illustration from fishing’, PLoS ONE, 15(4). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231575.
Bellemare, M.F. and Novak, L. (2017) ‘Contract farming and food security’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 99(2), pp. 357–378. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaw053.
Béné, C. et al. (2016) ‘Contribution of Fisheries and Aquaculture to Food Security and Poverty Reduction: Assessing the Current Evidence’, World Development, 79, pp. 177–196. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.11.007.
Bennett, N.J. (2016) ‘Using perceptions as evidence to improve conservation and environmental management’, Conservation Biology, 30(3), pp. 582–592. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12681.
Bennett, N.J. et al. (2019) ‘Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy’, Nature Sustainability, 2(11), pp. 991–993. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0404-1.
Biggs, R., Schluter, M. and Schoon, M.L. (2015) Principles for Building Resilience Sustaining Ecosystem Services in Social Ecological Systems. Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/life-sciences/natural-resource-management-agriculture-horticulture-and/principles-building-resilience-sustaining-ecosystem-services-social-ecological-systems.
Bramawanto, R. and Abida, R.F. (2017) ‘Tinjauan Aspek Klimatologi (Enso Dan Iod) Dan Dampaknya Terhadap Produksi Garam Indonesia’, Jurnal Kelautan Nasional, 12(2), p. 91. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15578/jkn.v12i2.6061.
Carr, E.R. (2020) ‘Resilient livelihoods in an era of global transformation’, Global Environmental Change, 64(102155). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102155.
Cinner, J.E. et al. (2018) ‘Building adaptive capacity to climate change in tropical coastal communities’, Nature Climate Change, 8(2), pp. 117–123. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0065-x.
Cinner, J.E. et al. (2020) ‘Meeting fisheries, ecosystem function, and biodiversity goals in a human-dominated world’, Science, 368(6488), pp. 307–311. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9412.
Douxchamps, S. et al. (2016) ‘Linking agricultural adaptation strategies, food security and vulnerability: evidence from West Africa’, Regional Environmental Change, 16(5), pp. 1305–1317. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-015-0838-6.
Fabinyi, M., Foale, S. and Macintyre, M. (2015) ‘Managing inequality or managing stocks? An ethnographic perspective on the governance of small-scale fisheries’, Fish and Fisheries, 16(3), pp. 471–485. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12069.
Fafchamps, M. (2004) ‘Market Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and Evidence’, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 37(2), p. 382. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/4129030.
FAO (2021) Food and agriculture: Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks. FAO.
Ferrol-Schulte, D. et al. (2015) ‘Coastal livelihood vulnerability to marine resource degradation: A review of the Indonesian national coastal and marine policy framework’, Marine Policy, 52, pp. 163–171. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2014.09.026.
Folke, C. et al. (2016) ‘Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science’, Ecology and Society, 21(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08748-210341.
Ghosh, S. and Mistri, B. (2024) ‘Spatial variation of community livelihood vulnerability at the interface of climatic variability and natural hazards in the Matla-Bidya Inter-estuarine Zone, Indian Sundarban’, Ocean & Coastal Management, 258(107410). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107410.
Guérin, I. (2014) ‘Juggling with debt, social ties, and values: The everyday use of microcredit in rural South India’, Current Anthropology, 55(SUPPL. 9), pp. 40–50. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1086/675929.
Islam, M.A., Shetu, M.M. and Hakim, S.S. (2022) ‘Possibilities of a gender-responsive infrastructure for livelihood-vulnerable women’s resilience in rural-coastal Bangladesh’, Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 12(3), pp. 447–466. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2020-0190.
Jackson, M.O., Rogers, B.W. and Zenou, Y. (2017) ‘The Economic Consequences of Social-Network Structure’, Journal of Economic Literature, 55(1), pp. 49–95. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20150694.
Kabir, A. et al. (2020) ‘Climate Change Perception and Adaptation Strategies of Southwest Coastal Bangladesh’, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, 66(1), pp. 47–68. Available at: http://asrjetsjournal.org/.
Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Republik Indonesia (2024) Petambak Garam di Indonesia, Portal Data KKP. Available at: https://portaldata.kkp.go.id/portals/data-statistik/petambak_garam/summary (Accessed: 8 November 2025).
Kinnan, C. and Townsend, R. (2012) ‘Kinship and Financial Networks , Formal Financial Access ’, American Economic Review Paper & Proceedings, 102(3), pp. 289–293.
Kriegl, M. et al. (2022) ‘Coastal livelihood resilience to abrupt environmental change: the role of social capital in a Peruvian bay’, Regional Environmental Change, 22(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01959-3.
Kumar, S., Sengupta, K. and Gogoi, B.J. (2023) ‘Interventions for sustainable livelihoods: a review of evidence and knowledge gaps’, International Journal of Social Economics, 50(4), pp. 556–574. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2022-0402.
Lanfranchi, M. et al. (2019) ‘Economic and social impacts of price volatility in the markets of agricultural products’, Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(6), pp. 1063–1068. Available at: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85077041629&partnerID=40&md5=e4e9dd4a52e774677702cffa2e8abd9a.
Morse, S. (2025) ‘Having Faith in the Sustainable Livelihood Approach: A Review’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 17(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020539.
Mumtaz, Z. (2025) ‘Conceptualising the Relationship Between Formal and Informal Social Protection’, Social Policy and Society, 24, pp. 383–400. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746423000337.
Natarajan, N. et al. (2022) ‘A sustainable livelihoods framework for the 21st century’, World Development, 155(105898). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105898.
Nguyen, M.T., Renaud, F.G. and Sebesvari, Z. (2019) ‘Drivers of change and adaptation pathways of agricultural systems facing increased salinity intrusion in coastal areas of the Mekong and Red River deltas in Vietnam’, Environmental Science & Policy, 92, pp. 331–348. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.10.016.
Oppenheimer, M. et al. (2019) ‘Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities.’, IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Chapter 4(Final Draft), pp. 1–14. Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/.
Pusdatin Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan (2024) Data Produksi Garam 2017-2022.
Quandt, A. (2018) ‘Measuring livelihood resilience: The Household Livelihood Resilience Approach (HLRA)’, World Development, 107, pp. 253–263. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.02.024.
Quandt, A., Neufeldt, H. and McCabe, J.T. (2017) ‘The role of agroforestry in building livelihood resilience to floods and drought in semiarid Kenya’, Ecology and Society, 22(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09461-220310.
Refulio-Coronado, S. et al. (2021) ‘Coastal and Marine Socio-Ecological Systems: A Systematic Review of the Literature’, Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, pp. 1–17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.648006.
Saha, M.K., Biswas, A.A.A. and Faisal, M. (2024) ‘Livelihood vulnerability of coastal communities in context of the climate change: A index-based assessment’, World Development Sustainability, 4(April), p. 100152. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2024.100152.
Salas, S., Barragán-Paladines, M.J. and Chuenpagdee, R. (2019) ‘Viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries in Latin America and The Caribbean’, 19, pp. 101–123. Available at: http://www.springer.com/series/10413.
Serrat, O. (2017) The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, Knowledge Solutions. Singapore: Springer Open. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0983-9_5.
Stacey, N. et al. (2019) ‘Enhancing coastal livelihoods in Indonesia: an evaluation of recent initiatives on gender, women and sustainable livelihoods in small-scale fisheries’, Maritime Studies, 18(3), pp. 359–371. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-019-00142-5.
Wahyurini, E.T. and Hamidah, E. (2020) ‘Pengembangan Ekonomi Desa melalui Kampung Garam (Studi Kasus Desa Bunder Kecamatan Pademawu Kabupaten Pamekasan Madura)’, Jurnal Agrinika : Jurnal Agroteknologi dan Agribisnis, 4(2), p. 155. Available at: https://doi.org/10.30737/agrinika.v4i2.1064.
Zainuri, M. et al. (2020) Pemetaan Lahan Garam di Jawa Timur. 1st ed, UTMPress. 1st ed. Bangkalan-Madura: UTMPress. Available at: http://msp.trunojoyo.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2020.-Buku.-Muhammad-Zainuri-Mahfud-Effendy-Firman-Farid-Muhsoni-Hafiluddin-Arief-Budianto-M.-Syaiful.-Pemetaan-Lahan-Garam-Di-Jawa-Timur_compres.pdf.
Descargas
Publicado
Cómo citar
Número
Sección
Licencia
I (we) submit this article which is original and unpublished, of my (our) own authorship, to the evaluation of the Veredas do Direito Journal, and agree that the related copyrights will become exclusive property of the Journal, being prohibited any partial or total copy in any other part or other printed or online communication vehicle dissociated from the Veredas do Direito Journal, without the necessary and prior authorization that should be requested in writing to Editor in Chief. I (we) also declare that there is no conflict of interest between the articles theme, the author (s) and enterprises, institutions or individuals.
I (we) recognize that the Veredas do Direito Journal is licensed under a CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.
Licença Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
