Surviving Strategies of Rural Livelihoods in South Sumatra Farming System, Indonesia

The research aimed to analyze surviving strategies of rural livelihoods in South Sumatra farming system, Indonesia. The research was conducted in in January to April 2018 using the field survey, respondents were divided into two categories, namely the respondents for Analytical Hierarchy Process and Participatory Rural Appraisal. The collected data were analyzed to determine the significance at the level of 5%. The research resulted that the very poor and poor households focused on primary aspects (food and drink), while moderate and rich households emphasized on the fulfillment of social needs. Household income was different for each household rank and different at the 5% test level. Rich households earned income from various sources, such as on-farm (farming, plantation, livestock, fishery etc.) and off-farm, while very poor and poor households focused only on-farm income. All income sources were significantly different for each group households ranks. Surviving household can be done with three strategies, namely income-generating strategy; expenditure-reducing strategy; and migration. It is needed an Governmental intervention to help the very poor and poor households in their poverty alleviation, i.e. providing direct cash fund; involving in government projects; and making public policy in favor of these groups.