Agricultural and its Contribution to Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

Aceh Province is one of the regions with the largest potential of agriculture sector in Indonesia. The agricultural sector is the main livelihood of rural communities in Aceh. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of agriculture sector to overcome poverty in Aceh Province. The results show that more than 25 percent of Aceh's economy is supported by the agricultural sector. In the absorption of labor, the agricultural sector is able to absorb more labor than other sectors. Where almost half the people of Aceh work in the agricultural sector. The growing agricultural sector in Aceh, also further reduces unemployment, improves the quality of community welfare, and reduces poverty. Opportunities to accelerate poverty reduction are still open when improvements are made to agricultural productivity where the concentration of the poor is present. Therefore, it is important for the government to encourage the growth of the agricultural sector in order to realize the distribution of income and welfare of society and encourage the economic growth of Aceh in the future.