p-ISSN 2477-0531 e-ISSN 2622-8386 Asian Journal for Poverty Studies 5(2): 51 - 56 (2019) 51 INCOME INEQUALITY AND POVERTY AMONG RICE FARMERS: A CASE ON OWNER FARMERS AND SHARECROPPERS IN LAHAT REGENCY OF SOUTH SUMATERA PROVINCE Ketut Sukiyono 1 , Nola Windirah 1* , and Jheni Juwita Sari Melia 1 1 Agribusiness Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu Jl. W.R. Supratman, Kandang Limun, City of Bengkulu, Indonesia * Corresponding Author: nolawindirah@unib.ac.id ABSTRACT South Sumatera Province occupies the position of poverty above the national average. The biggest contribution came from rural areas, most of which were communities with livelihoods as rice farmers. In-depth information is needed by the government to continue to reduce poverty and income inequality that occur. Lahat Regency is in the spotlight due to the achievement of average economic growth and poverty reduction above the provincial average. The lack of available information regarding the poverty of rice farmers in the category of land ownership status (owner and sharecropper) is an important foundation for this research. The objective of this study was to determine income inequality and poverty distribution among rice farmers in Lahat Regency of South Sumatera Province. Using the Gini ratio and minimum income based on the method by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Biro Pusat Statistik (BPS), the level of inequality and distribution of poverty between the owner farmers and sharecroppers were determined. The results of the study showed that income inequality occurred in the moderate category of rice farmers in the Lahat Regency. Based on BPS and ADB criteria, the highest distribution of poverty is found on sharecroppers. Overall poverty occurred among the rice farmers in Lahat Regency was high, namely 52.55% (BPS) or 73.65% (ADB). Keywords: income inequality, profit-sharing, poverty distribution, sharecropper, rice farmer. INTRODUCTION Poverty is a major problem commonly faced by developing countries. The problem has predominantly occurred in the rural areas where large proportions of the livelihood rely on agriculture. For South Sumatera Province, the poverty rate was 13.9%, or above the national average (10.96%). Nevertheless, not all districts in the province contributed the same share. Lahat Regency, for instance, is one district in the province that exhibited an average economic growth and poverty reduction above the provincial average (South Sumatera, 2015). Although Lahat Regency is not the main rice production center for South Sumatera Province, rice farming plays an important role in the district economy. Most of the studies on poverty among rice farmers discussed the status of farmers with criteria based on land area tenure. Hutapea & Raharjo (2016) showed that rice farmers who have the narrowest land tenure have the greatest poverty rates compared to rice farmers who have medium and wider land. Setiawan et al. (2007), Anggraini (2016), and Sriati (2017) also determined the poverty of rice farmers by utilizing the amount of land ownership. However, the poverty phenomena related to the status of the farmer or the profit-sharing system is varied regions. This study was performed to determine income inequality and poverty distribution among rice farmers in Lahat Regency of South Sumatera Province.