Income of Owners and Workers of Traditional Sugarcane Brown Sugar Mills: A Descriptive Study in Buter Village, Ketol District, Central Aceh Regency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30601/humaniora.v10i2.8290Keywords:
Brown sugar, Non-centrifugal sugar, Income analysis, Rural agroindustry, Wage income, Central AcehAbstract
Traditional sugarcane brown sugar mills are a source of rural income in the Gayo highlands of Aceh, yet published studies report the returns of mill owners and rarely the wages of the workers they employ. This study describes the income of owners and workers of the three active mills in Buter Village, Ketol District, Central Aceh Regency, and the constraints on their operation. A descriptive design was used. Data were collected from three mill owners and six workers through observation, interviews and documentation between 6 November and 6 December 2025, and were analysed by data condensation, data display and conclusion drawing combined with a simple income analysis. Monthly gross income ranged from Rp28,600,000 to Rp39,000,000 per mill and totalled Rp101,400,000, against total costs of Rp52,600,000. Net income totalled Rp48,800,000, or Rp16,266,667 per owner per month, with a revenue–cost ratio of 1.93. Each worker earned Rp120,000 per day, or Rp3,120,000 per month, which is 84.7% of the 2025 Aceh provincial minimum wage. Rain, machine breakdown, labour scarcity and low-quality cane were the reported constraints. The mills are profitable for their owners, whereas workers’ wages are below the provincial minimum-wage benchmark.Downloads
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