Contemporary Research Analysis Journal

Meliponiculture may provide supplementary income, but its measured contribution to rural women’s livelihoods remains uncertain. This study aimed to determine whether meliponiculture provides additional net income to rural women in Banyumas, quantify its contribution to household income, and examine the factors associated with that contribution. This cross-sectional survey analyzed 59 women in one supported farmer group in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia. Mean net meliponiculture income was IDR 208,050.85 per month and contributed a mean of 7.43% of household income (SD = 4.62 percentage points; range 2.68%–31.25%). A multiple linear regression of income contribution on colony number, weekly time, and years of practice explained 57.6% of variation. With HC3 robust standard errors, colony number was positively associated with income share (B = 1.14 percentage points per colony, 95% CI 0.61–1.68); the conditional weekly-time coefficient was negative and borderline (p = .051), and practice duration was not clearly associated (p = .518). Excluding the respondent with 30 colonies reduced R² to .215; the colony association persisted, while the time coefficient was negative (p = .041). All women reported being primary colony owner-managers, but the nine-item access/control composite was unreliable (Cronbach’s α = −.05), precluding a conclusion about empowerment. Meliponiculture provided supplementary net income in this group, but the cross-sectional design cannot determine whether it increased women’s income compared with their income before participation 

Banyumas, livelihoods, meliponiculture, rural, woman

1. G. V. Subba Rao, “Meliponiculture: A backbone for poor people,” Insect Environment, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 153–155, 2021. 
2. O. H. Chidi and P. E. Odo, “Meliponiculture for sustainable economy,” in Proc. 4th Delta State Univ. Fac. Sci. Int. Conf., 2017, pp. 131–135. 
3. S. Devanesan, K. S. Premila, and A. Verghese, “Commercial meliponiculture – beekeeping with stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini),” Insect Environment, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 246–251, 2022, doi: 10.55278/FSTS2281. 
4. E. D. Prastiyani, “Peran komunitas peternak lebah klanceng dalam pemberdayaan sosial ekonomi melalui pendekatan spiritual,” Spiritualita: J. Ethics Spiritual., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 40–50, 2021. 
5. M. Arsyad et al., “Pemberdayaan masyarakat melalui pelatihan budidaya lebah klanceng untuk ketahanan ekonomi dan konservasi lingkungan,” Educommunity: J. Pengabdian Masyarakat, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 114–122, 2025. 
6. K. U. Al Awwally et al., “Manajemen budidaya lebah madu klanceng (Trigona sp.) di Kelompok Tani Hutan (KTH) Telaga Lestari, Desa Ngebel, Kabupaten Ponorogo, Jawa Timur,” JIAT, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 86–95, 2023. 
7. F. Budiman, Novialdi, F. Aini, and Narfizan, “Sustainable stingless beekeeping for rural socioeconomic transformation: An assetbased community approach,” GUYUB: J. Community Engagement, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 90–98, 2026, doi: 10.33650/guyub.v7i1.13923. 
8. A. H. Harianja et al., “Potential of beekeeping to support the livelihood, economy, society, and environment of Indonesia,” Forests, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 321, 2023, doi: 10.3390/f14020321. 
9. I. Widhiono et al., “Penerapan hasil penelitian budidaya lebah klanceng Tetragonula biroi bagi Kelompok Tani Hutan ‘Jembaran’,” J. Innov. Sustain. Empowerment, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 117–125, 2024, doi: 10.25134/jise.v3i2.112.  
10. B. Y. E. Yanuartati, R. Desan, Syarifuddin, N. M. W. Sari, and M. Nursan, “Stingless bee beekeeping as a coping strategy of poor households to cope with impacts of disasters in Lombok Island, Indonesia,” Jurnal Biologi Tropis, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 374–381, 2022, doi: 10.29303/jbt.v22i1.3531. 
11. M. Adler, L. Escóbar-Márquez, M. T. Solis-Soto, and C. F. Pinto, “Stingless bees: Uses and management by meliponiculturist women in the Chaco region of Bolivia,” J. Ethnobiol. Ethnomed., vol. 19, Art. no. 5, 2023, doi: 10.1186/s13002-022-00574-0. 
12. M. M. Garrigues and R. B. Garrigues, “Meliponiculture in the Philippines: A comprehensive review of its socio-economic significance, ecological role, and future prospects,” Int. J. Res. Innov. Soc. Sci., vol. 9, no. 15, pp. 972–985, 2025, doi: 10.47772/IJRISS.2025.915EC0073. 
13. N. Arauz, “Food sovereignty: Women and meliponiculture in Corozo community, Nicaragua,” M.S. thesis, Central European Univ., Budapest, Hungary, 2020. 
14. A. Rattanawannee and O. Duangphakdee, “Southeast Asian meliponiculture for sustainable livelihood,” in Modern Beekeeping, IntechOpen, 2019, doi: 10.5772/intechopen.90344. 
15. M. Kichu and M. Bhattacharya, “Stingless honey a sustainable economy in Nagaland,” Int. Res. J. Adv. Sci. Hub, vol. 2, no. Special Issue 8, pp. 231–235, 2020. 
16. S. B. A. Razak, A. A. Aziz, N. A. Ali, M. F. Ali, and F. Visser, “The sustainable integration of meliponiculture as an additional income stream for rubber smallholders in Malaysia,” in CRI & IRRDB Int. Rubber Conf., 2016, pp. 143–148. 
17. D. N. Priminingtyas, “Analisis sosial ekonomi peranan perempuan pedesaan di dalam keluarga dan masyarakat,” Buana Sains, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 193–202, 2007. 
18. R. Safriyanto, F. Ningsih, J. R. Frederick, and G. Isyanawulan, “Analisis budaya patriarki terhadap kesetaraan gender perempuan dalam rumah tangga,” Jurnal Ilmiah Publika, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 166–174, 2024. 
19. D. Indiahono, “‘Mahkota untuk perempuan di program pemberdayaan’: Studi posisi penting perempuan pada program pengentasan kemiskinan di Kabupaten Banyumas,” Sodality: J. Sosiologi Pedesaan, pp. 176–182, 2016. 
20. F. Noorahya, S. Withaningsih, and Parikesit, “Social acceptance of stingless bee honey cultivation for sustainable bioproduction system,” IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 1211, p. 012005, 2023, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1211/1/012005. 
21. A. Pribadi and D. Roza, “Enhancing capacity and empowering local communities live inside Thirty Hills National Park, Riau through meliponiculture,” IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 917, p. 012001, 2021, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/917/1/012001. 
22. H. Salatnaya, A. M. Fuah, C. Sumantri, S. Kahono, and Widiatmaka, “Farmer perception and economic prospect of stingless bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) development in West Halmahera,” IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 1020, p. 012006, 2022, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1020/1/012006. 
23. H. D. Astuti and D. A. V. Laksmi, “Peningkatan usaha lebah klanceng sebagai ekonomi alternatif masyarakat Desa Tanggulangin Punggur Lamteng,” Jurnal ABDIMAS UBJ, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 125–136, 2022. 
24. Y. A. B. Pertiwi, D. Apriyanto, A. Agustina, M. Nufus, and I. N. Nayasilana, “Peningkatan produksi madu klanceng di hutan rakyat untuk kesejahteraan masyarakat dan kelestarian lingkungan di Kemalang, Klaten,” Agrokreatif: Jurnal Ilmiah Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 288–296, 2023. 
25. Y. Oktavia et al., “Stingless bee honey farming and farmer empowerment in Sawahlunto City, West Sumatra, Indonesia,” BIO Web Conf., vol. 159, p. 07001, 2025, doi: 10.1051/bioconf/202515907001. 
26. M. F. Iqbal, S. Harianto, and P. Handoyo, “Transformasi peran perempuan desa dalam belenggu budaya patriarki,” Jurnal ISIP: J. Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 95–108, 2023, doi: 10.36451/jisip.v20i1.13. 
27. M. R. Napitupulu and A. Suriadi, “Kontribusi petani perempuan terhadap kesejahteraan sosial ekonomi keluarga di Desa Sipea-Pea Kabupaten Tapanuli Tengah,” Jurnal Intervensi Sosial dan Pembangunan (JISP), vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 59–69, 2021. 
28. G. Saputra, “Peran perempuan dalam peningkatan ekonomi masyarakat di Desa Tegal Maja Kecamatan Tanjung, Kabupaten Lombok Utara,” PESOLAH: J. Pendidikan, Sosial dan Humaniora, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 76–80, 2025. 
29. M. Fanzikri, “Partisipasi perempuan dalam kelembagaan dan pembangunan desa di Aceh,” AL-Ijtima’i – Int. J. Gov. Soc. Sci., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 81–96, 2019. 
30. F. M. A. Hasugian and L. Panggabean, “Peran perempuan dalam mengembangkan Usaha Mikro Kecil dan Menengah dalam rangka menuju Masyarakat Ekonomi ASEAN di Kota Tangerang Selatan,” Jurnal Inada, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 111–135, 2019. 
31. Y. H. Bertham, D. W. Ganefianti, and A. Andani, “Peranan perempuan dalam perekonomian keluarga dengan memanfaatkan sumberdaya pertanian,” AGRISEP, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 138–153, 2011, doi: 10.31186/jagrisep.10.1.138-153. 
32. E. Antriyandarti, D. N. Suprihatin, A. W. Pangesti, and P. L. Samputra, “The dual role of women in food security and agriculture in responding to climate change: Empirical evidence from rural Java,” Environmental Challenges, vol. 14, p. 100852, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.envc.2024.100852.  
33. S. Jabeen, S. Haq, A. Jameel, A. Hussain, M. Asif, J. Hwang, and A. Jabeen, “Impacts of rural women’s traditional economic activities on household economy: Changing economic contributions through empowered women in rural Pakistan,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 7, p. 2731, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12072731. 
34. M. A. F. Alfana and A. Qonitah, “Female-headed households in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Demographic realities and policy pathways for inclusive development,” Populasi, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 33–48, 2025, doi: 10.22146/jp.108174.