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- Trial lecture starts at 10:15
- Public defence starts at 12:15
Title of trial lecture: "The Gendered Dynamics of Credit Union Participation using an Intersectional Perspective: Barriers, Opportunities, and Policy Implications."
Read the thesis in NVA
Disputation chair: Dean Leif Skiftenes Flak
Assessment committee:
- Dr. Gerben Nooteboom at Radboud University
- Dr. Martua T. Sirait at Samdhana
- Dr. Arnhild Leer-Helgesen at UiA
Supervisors in the doctoral work:
- Prof. emeritus Arne Olav Øyhus, IGUS, UIA
- Associate Professor Hanne Haaland, IGUS, UIA
- Associate Professor Hege Wallevik, IGUS, UIA
Summary of thesis
Since their establishment in West Kalimantan, Credit Unions (CUs) have not only been regarded as financial service providers, but also as a mechanism of empowerment aimed at improving the economic well-being of marginalised or poor groups in rural areas, smallholder and the landless farmers. The idea of economic empowerment has been materialised through the provision of financial services to rural farmers who previously had no access to banking. The absence of financial services in rural areas has been considered one of the main causes of poverty, and the presence of CUs has been expected to serve as a panacea for addressing this problem.
Through an ethnographic study, I found that, rather than functioning as a tool of poverty alleviation, the institution has instead become a new instrument of capital exploitation in the frontier region. First, the presence of CUs in rural areas does not automatically guarantee that all farmers are able to access the financial services provided, particularly smallholder and landless farmers. Second, the adoption of a more commercial philosophy has indeed increased the institution's wealth. However, this strategy has come at a considerable cost, limiting access for undercapitalised farmers. Third, local socio-economic dynamics, particularly the transformation from swidden to oil palm cultivation, have indeed led to a shrinking in farmers' landholdings due to large-scale land acquisition. However, competition among farmers, supported by financial assistance for the wealthy, has further intensified inequality between them.
Ultimately, farmers' participation in financial institutions appears to expose them to a particular risk: becoming entangled in financial chains through which rural capital can be accessed by wealthy farmers and external actors who could potentially harm them, particularly in the context of financing the expansion of the oil palm business.
What to do as an online audience member
The disputation is open to the public. To follow the trial lecture and the public defence online, register on Zoom.
We ask online audience members to join no earlier than 10 minutes in advance. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
Opponent ex auditorio:
Deadline for the public to pose questions is during the break between the two opponents. Questions ex auditorio can be submitted to disputation chair. leif.flak@uia.no