Non-Farming Activities among Orang Asli Households in Royal Belum - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Non-Farming Activities among Orang Asli Households in Royal Belum State Park, Perak Khairul Hisyam Kamarudin, PhD * Khamarrul Azahari Razak, PhD Rozaimi Che Hasan, PhD Shamsul Sarip, PhD UTM RAZAK SCHOOL of Engineering & Advanced Technology Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur

Outline of presentation:  Introduction  Role of RNF in Rural & Community Development  Study Approach  Results & Discussions  Issues & Challenges of RNF – some examples  Conclusion

Introduction  Rural transformation in Malaysia can be observed in the multi-dimensional changes towards the diversification of rural activities with increases in non- farming activities, the broadening of farm or land-based activities and the introduction of quality and local specialty products.  Federal government agencies began to seek out alternatives in developing the countryside and rural communities, specifically to identify more profitable economic activities as it became obvious that the agricultural sector alone did not hold the key to rural development .

Introduction  One of the main strategies of this search was to find ways of encouraging the diversification of rural economic activities  brought an interest in rural non-farming (RNF) sector as a tool to revitalize the countryside and rural communities .  The emergence of non-farming (NF) or non-agricultural economic activities in rural areas is not an entirely new phenomenon. Unfortunately, as of now, there is very limited research in Malaysia to identify their roles and contribution to rural livelihoods.  This study  aim to examine the roles and contribution of non-farming (NF) activities in rural livelihoods and how they are linked to the rural economy.

The Role of RNF in Rural & Community Development  Migration to the cities has eroded the vitality of rural communities  traditional economic systems that usually involve farming and forest-related activities, are falling into disuse + the quality of the environment deteriorates  thus affecting the income and employment opportunities in rural communities.

 NF enterprises in Africa (Reardon, 1997) indicated that the RNF sector has employed more than one member of a typical rural household and the income shares from RNF enterprises contributed between 22 to 93% to the local economic performance.  Islam (1997) reported that RNF capable to generate between 20 to 50% of total local employment, resulting in households earning more from RNF activities than from farm wage labour.

2 Assisting farm-based 3 households in spreading Offering more risks remunerative activities to 1 supplement or replace income from agricultural Absorbing surplus activities labour in rural areas Contribution of RNF 5 Providing a means to cope or survive when farming 4 sector fails or becoming Offering potential income unviable during the agricultural off- season Gordon and Craig (2001)

linkage between NF development with the local community provision of widespread RNF – a active engagement with the benefits to all segments development of the community local community in the especially the development and management concept underprivileged Source: Ngah et al. (2016); Kamarudin (2015a & 2013) and Wood (2005)

Materials & Methods • Household surveys and interviews (9-11 Sept 2015). • A total of 15 respondents (seven respondents from Sungai 1 Kejar and eight from Sungai Tiang) have agreed to Legend: participate in the survey by answering a questionnaire- 2 1 Kg. Sungai Kejar guided interview. Kg. Sungai Tiang 2 • SPSS software was used to aid data processing and analyses. • A simple frequency and comparative statistical analysis was adopted to differentiate the variation in the contribution of non-agricultural activities to the rural livelihood in different localities. • Cross-tabulation analysis used to examine the relationships between different variables such as the respondents’ main reasons for participating in non-farm activities.

Results Profile of respondents Information Frequency Percentage (n=15) (%) Number of respondents  7 47 Kg. Sg. Kejar 8 53  Kg. Sg. Tiang Gender  15 100 Male (head of household) 0 0  Female Marital status  13 87 Married  2 13 Widower Education level  9 60 No formal education  6 40 Adult school (sekolah dewasa) for 3 months

25% 20% 20% 20% 20% 15% 13% 13% 10% Age distribution 7% 7% 5% 0% <17 y.o 18-24 25-30 31-34 35-40 41-50 >51 y.o

Information Frequency (n=15) Percentage (%) Involvement in non-farm activity  15 100 Status of respondents’ involvement in RNF activities Yes 0 0  No Involvement as a full-time job  13 87 Yes  2 13 No Involvement as a part-time job  2 13 Yes 13 87  No Involvement as a seasonal job  9 60 Yes  6 40 No Location of non-farm activities  15 100 Inside Royal Belum  0 0 Outside Royal Belum Types of NF activity  13 87 Sandalwood / Kayu gaharu (full-time every month) 15 100  Honey gatherer (madu Tualang) (seasonal) 13 87  Honey gatherer (madu Kelulut) (part-time every month) 13 87  Fishing (part-time every month) Frequency of activity per month  13 87 Every week 2 13  Not related Involvement of family members in NF  1 7 Yes  14 93 No

Respondents’ main reasons for participating in RNF activities 100% 93% 87% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 40% 27% 27% 27% 30% 20% 10% 0% As main As No other More Marketable Inherit and income supporting option flexibility product good at the income job

Frequency Percentage (%) Valid Not related 1 6.7 <RM10/day 3 20.0 RM15/day 7 46.7 RM30/day 4 26.7 Total 15 100.0 Average income from RNF activity (n=15) RM15 x 30 days = RM450 Note: National poverty line (average) – RM950 (poor) and RM600 (hard core poor)

100% Perceptions on prospect of 90% RNF activities – market price 80% and resources availability 70% (n=15) 60% 0% 50% 73% 40% 30% 60% 27% 20% 0% 10% 20% 13% 7% 0% Is increasing No change Is decreasing Not sure Resource availability Market price

40% 38% 35% 32% Issue and challenges 30% related to RNF activities (n=15) 25% 22% 20% 15% 10% 8% 5% 0% 0% 0% Resource Competition Illegal Seasonality Instability in High depletion (outside poachers market price cost/capital product) issue

Family dispute? Merajuk? Or….. Just a small sign of….. ……contest for resources (land, spatial, food, comfort)? Akta Orang Asli 1954 (Akta 134) ……………….. Enakmen Perbadanan Taman Negeri Perak 2001…………………..

Unsustainable practice in extracting wild kelulut honey observed in Royal Belum State Park during field study Not a BIG Q: By Orang Asli? By illegal poachers? By locals from outside RBSP? BIG Q: State of natural resources conservation? Long term sustainability/survivability of a species?

The Way Forward  RNF activities played a significant role in shaping the livelihoods of Orang Asli households in Royal Belum State Park.  The community’s involvement in RNF activities undoubtedly generated local jobs and income . However, the current data showed that the level of household income is far from satisfactory and it is not able to bring them out of poverty .  Respondents agreed that the price for RNF products has increased over the years + also admitted that local resources harvested as RNF products have also decreased in tandem with the market price hike - sandalwood, rattan, wild honey and other products.  It is recommended by this study that new forms of RNF and RNF-related activities, such as community- based tourism should be introduced in the near future to reduce the community’s dependency on the exploitation of the natural resources, hence reducing the pressure on the valuable resources of Royal Belum State Park  solving the issue of energy/power + telecommunication.

KHAIRUL HISYAM KAMARUDIN, PHD Lecturer/Researcher in Planning (Rural Development & Sustainable Tourism) UTM Razak School of Engineering & Advanced Technology UTM Kuala Lumpur Email: khkamarudin@gmail.com Website: http://khairulhkamarudin.wordpress.com Thank you!