A simulation model to study land use strategies in swidden agriculture systems
Authored by E Sulistyawati, IR Noble, ML Roderick
Date Published: 2005
DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2005.06.011
Sponsors:
Australian Government
Platforms:
Delphi
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Flow charts
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Development has ended isolation in many parts of Kalimantan, Indonesia, and provides previously isolated communities with the opportunity for
greater involvement in a market economy. This paper describes the use of
a simulation model to study the possible impacts of greater involvement
in cash cropping in swidden agricultural systems. The model uses both
individual-based and rule-based modelling approaches. The model
formulation is based on a previous report of the social structure, culture and agricultural production system of the Kantu' in West
Kalimantan {[}Dove, MR., 1985. Swidden Agriculture in Indonesia: The
Subsistence Strategies of the Kalimantan Kautu'. Mouton Publishers, Berlin]. The model simulates: (1) births, deaths, marriage, household
formation and dissolution; (2) land use decisions on the type, number
and location of swidden cultivation; and (3) tracks the consequences of
those decisions at a landscape level as well as the economic welfare of
the households. The model deals with swidden cultivation of rice and the
planting and tapping of rubber. The paper presents a simulation
`experiment' that compares different land use strategies under a
scenario of fluctuating rubber price. An important finding is that
maintainings widden cultivation as `an option' in the farming system, rather than permanently replacing swidden cultivation with cash
cropping, appears to be a safer strategy to moderate the impact of
commodity price fluctuations. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Tags
Spatial model
shifting cultivation