Dinamika Politik Ekologi dalam Akuisisi Lahan Pertanian untuk Ekspansi Industri Kelapa Sawit di Pedesaan Seluma

FUAT EDI KURNIAWAN, Dr. Lambang Trijono, M.A

2023 | Tesis | S2 Sosiologi

Akuisisi lahan pertanian sawah untuk ekspansi perkebunan kelapa sawit sering kali dilakukan secara besar-besaran dengan melakukan konversi penggunaan lahan. Perubahan struktur lanskap lahan pertanian sawah ke kelapa sawit di pedesaan telah menyebabkan perubahan drastis dalam aspek sosio-ekologis dan livelihood rumah tangga petani. Akuisisi lahan pertanian ini melibatkan berbagai aktor kepentingan dan dilakukan melalui operasi modal besar dengan skema investasi negara dan piranti hukum yang memberi keamanan (proteksionisme) bagi para pemodal. Skema perizinan ekspansi perkebunan sawit didukung dengan landasan hukum negara berupa dokumen Hak Guna Usaha (HGU). Penelitian ini mengambil lokus di Desa Pasar Seluma Bengkulu yang saat ini hampir seluruh kawasan desa telah dikuasai oleh industri perkebunan sawit swasta. Ketimpangan penguasaan lahan di desa ini memberikan penetrasi kepada masyarakatnya dan dinilai akan memunculkan masalah de-agrarianisasi dan keberlanjutan aktivitas fungsi lahan. Penelitian ini didesain dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk memahami politik ekologi yang mendorong akuisisi lahan, proses transisi pertanian dan tantangan livelihood petani di tengah kondisi lanskap desa yang di dominasi oleh industri perkebunan sawit. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa politik pengelolaan tanah dalam akuisisi lahan melibatkan berbagai aktor kepentingan dalam perebutan ruang spasial. Terjadi hubungan asimetris antara negara, perkebunan swasta, dan petani pedesaan. Pendudukan 90 persen kawasan desa di Pasar Seluma oleh PT AA menjadikan involusi desa. Ekspansi secara diam-diam dilakukan oleh perkebunan swasta di tengah moratorium izin kelapa sawit. Petani di Pasar Seluma secara trajectory merubah fungsi lahan mereka ke sawit karena determinan ekologis dan pilihan rasional di tengah gempuran kelapa sawit. Namun, meskipun sawit mampu memberikan dampak ekonomi bagi petani, tetapi juga melahirkan tantangan livelihood dan kerentanan baru karena harus bergantung (dependensi) dengan pihak industri perkebunan yang sering kali merugikan mereka.

The acquisition of wetland agricultural land for the expansion of oil palm plantations is often carried out on a large scale by carrying out land use conversion. Changes in the landscape structure of rice fields to oil palm farming in rural areas have caused drastic changes in the socio-ecological and livelihood aspects of farming households. The acquisition of agricultural land involves various interested actors and is carried out through large capital operations with state investment schemes and legal instruments that provide security (protectionism) for investors. State legal foundations support the oil palm plantation expansion licensing scheme through Cultivation Rights (HGU) documents. This research focuses on Pasar Seluma Village, Bengkulu, where, currently, almost the entire village area is controlled by the private palm oil plantation industry. Inequality in land tenure in this village provides penetration into the community and is considered to give rise to problems of de-agrarianization and sustainability of land function activities. This research was designed using qualitative methods with a case study approach. This research aims to understand the political ecology that drives land acquisition, the agricultural transition process, and farmers' livelihood challenges amid village landscape conditions dominated by the oil palm plantation industry. This research shows that the politics of land management in land acquisition involves various interest actors in the struggle for spatial space. There is an asymmetric relationship between the state, private plantations, and rural farmers. The occupation of 90 percent of the village area in Pasar Seluma by PT AA resulted in the involution of the village. Expansion is being carried out secretly by private plantations amidst a moratorium on palm oil permits. Farmers in Seluma Market are trajectory-changing the use of their land to oil palm due to ecological determinants and rational choices amidst the onslaught of oil palm. However, even though oil palm can impact farmers economically, it also creates new livelihood challenges and vulnerabilities because they have to depend on the plantation industry, which often harms them.

Kata Kunci : akuisisi lahan, politik ekologi, ekspansi, kelapa sawit, livelihood