The introduction and expansion of oil palm in Indonesia reflects the crop’s economic attractiveness and benefits, but the social interactions between companies and local communities have had a mixed track record that requires attention. To some extent, oil palm plantations have been portrayed as costly from social and environmental perspectives. To understand the economic benefits of palm oil production, we analyzed both private and financial returns at the plantation level as well as the return to labour. Socially, interaction areas were identified as the result of labour requirements of oil palm plantations and the profitability of independent and plasma smallholders’ plantations.
Tag: palm oil
A new trend in palm oil production in the context of changing global demands: a portrayal of oil palm development in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia
• Widespread expansion of oil palm plantations by independent growers, coupled with the emergence of new private actors (operating within a land area of a couple of hundred hectares) are clearly contributing to transboundary environmental problems.• Spontaneous frontier development has extended beyond the Indonesian government’s control, and in many cases these areas are being unsustainably managed, infringing the principles of environmental conservation.• Field observations revealed that oil palm expansion by independent players, including smallholders, involves massive land transfer. Local communities play an important role facilitating the expansion of oil palm plantations in these areas• From the State’s perspective, independent oil palm growers, who are mostly excluded in the official data, should be seen as major actors in landscape management.