Plantation companies paying Indonesian farmers to burn land

RIDING VILLAGE, South Sumatra: Illegal land clearing in Indonesia has been the primary cause of transboundary haze that has blanketed neighbouring countries Malaysia and Singapore.

However, farmers continue to use slash-and-burn techniques despite health and environmental hazards.

Sofi, a farmer and rubber plantation owner for 50 years, admitted to burning down the trees on his one-hectare rubber plantations every year to clear the land. He said: "I burn my land so it's easier for us to clear the cut tree branches. The small branches are the parts that are burnt. If we don't burn the land, it would be very difficult for us to replant it with cassavas and bananas."

It took only two hours to burn the land, compared to weeks if he were to remove the trees using machetes and shovels. But Sofi created firebreaks and monitored the fire closely to prevent it from spreading to nearby lands. He blamed the fires on peatland for the haze and said fires on normal ground die out faster.

Sofi, though, was not doing anything illegal. According to Environment Ministry laws that protect the traditional rights of small farmers, they are allowed to use the slash-and-burn technique for up to two hectares of land.

Instead, it is the plantation companies who have abused these laws. As they are banned from any amount of burning, commercial businesses are paying small individual farmers to use their land to grow crops before burning the land under the protection of the existing laws.

"We're working with the police to enforce the law, said Yusrizal Dinoto, head of the South Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency. Police on helicopters would patrol areas and take immediate measures to arrest suspects, whether it be farmers or plantation company workers who burn land."

Using excavators to clear the land is an alternative but it is also costly option that few independent farmers can afford.

"Burning to clear land is important for local farmers, said Iswadi, a Forestry Ministry firefighter. They need to clear land manually before they can replant rubber trees. They don't use sophisticated equipment so the only way is to burn land."

The small-scale farmers Channel NewsAsia spoke to say clearing land by burning has been a long-held local custom and they plan on continuing the practice until the government can offer them a better option.

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Plantation companies paying Indonesian farmers to burn land