Enhancing farmers' land productivity through sustainable palm oil certification: Strategies for promoting environmental and economic benefits in agricultural practices
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61511/jassu.v2i2.2025.1131Keywords:
ISPO certification, RSPO certification, smallholder productivity, sustainable palm oil.Abstract
Background: With more than 40% of Indonesia's oil palm land under its management, smallholders still face challenges on the low land productivity and certification achievement. Methods: This research aims to develop a certification concept capable to increase the smallholders’ land productivity through descriptive statistics, grounded theory, content analysis, and Analytic Hiearachy Process. Findings: This research finds that ISPO and RSPO certified smallholders achieved 82% higher land productivity than the average conventional ones, in line with their compliance with certification and consistent GAP application. Fertilisation needs to be prioritised to increase productivity, with the GAP Application and Monitoring (RSPO) and Plant Maintenance (ISPO) as the supporting certification criteria. Conclusion: Synergy between ISPO and RSPO has a chance to increasing land productivity through certification compliance, hence accelerating smallholder certification achievement which would reduce deforestation rates from oil palm expansion. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study introduces a certification concept that combines ISPO and RSPO standards to enhance smallholder land productivity. It emphasizes the integration of fertilization, GAP application, and plant maintenance as key components for boosting productivity while ensuring certification compliance, offering a novel approach to reducing deforestation rates in Indonesia's oil palm sector.
References
Abdul, I., Sari, D. W., Haryanto, T., & Win, T. (2022). Analysis of factors affecting the technical inefficiency on Indonesian palm oil plantation. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 3381. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07113-7
Alam, S. (2005). The United Nations' approach to trade, the environment and sustainable development. ILSA J. Int'l & Comp. L., 12, 607. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ilsaic12&div=38&id=&page=
Arifandy, M. I., Hariyadi, H., & Adiwibowo, S. (2018). Analisis Pengaruh Adopsi Ispo Terhadap Perbaikan Kinerja Pengelolaan Lingkungan Dan Perubahan Sosial Ekonomi Masyarakat. Jurnal Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Alam Dan Lingkungan (Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Management), 8(2), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.29244/jpsl.8.2.199-206
Astuti, M., Hafiza, Y. E., Nasution, I. M., Mustikawati, D., & Wasingun, A. R. (2014). Pedoman Budidaya Kelapa Sawit (Elais guineensis) yang Baik. Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan Kementerian Pertanian.
Austin, K. G., Schwantes, A., Gu, Y., & Kasibhatla, P. S. (2019). What causes deforestation in Indonesia? Environmental Research Letters, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaf6db.
Ayompe, L. M., Schaafsma, M., & Egoh, B. N. (2021). Towards sustainable palm oil production: The positive and negative impacts on ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 278, 123914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123914
Bush, S. R., Toonen, H., Oosterveer, P., & Mol, A. P. J. (2013). The “devils triangle” of MSC certification: Balancing credibility, accessibility and continuous improvement. Marine Policy, 37(1), 288–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2012.05.011
Cattau, M. E., Marlier, M. E., & DeFries, R. (2016). Effectiveness of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for reducing fires on oil palm concessions in Indonesia from 2012 to 2015. Environmental Research Letters, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/10/105007
Choiruzzad, S. A. B., Tyson, A., & Varkkey, H. (2021). The ambiguities of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certification: internal incoherence, governance rescaling and state transformation. Asia Europe Journal, 19(2), 189–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-020-00593-0
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches Design Fourth Edition. Sage Publications.
Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture. (2020). Statistik Perkebunan Indonesia 2018 – 2020. Sekretariat Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan Kementerian Pertanian.
Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture. (2022). Statistik Perkebunan Unggulan Nasional 2020 – 2022. Sekretariat Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan Kementerian Pertanian Republik Indonesia.
Euler, M., Hoffmann, M. P., Fathoni, Z., & Schwarze, S. (2016). Exploring yield gaps in smallholder oil palm production systems in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia. Agricultural Systems, 146, 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2016.04.007
Forman, E. H., & Gass, S. I. (2001). The Analytic Hierarchy Process: An Exposition. Operations Research, 49(4), 469–486. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3088581
Goepel, K. (2018). Implementation of an Online software tool for the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP-OS). International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, 10(3), 469–487. https://doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v10i3.590
Herdiansyah, H., Negoro, H. A., Rusdayanti, N., & Shara, S. (2020). Palm oil plantation and cultivation: Prosperity and productivity of smallholders. Open Agriculture, 5(1), 617-630. https://doi.org/10.1515/opag-2020-0063
Hidayat, K. N., Glasbergen, P., & Offermans, A. (2015). Sustainability certification and palm oil smallholders’ livelihood: A comparison between scheme smallholders and independent smallholders in Indonesia. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 18(3), 25-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.208400
Jafari, Y., Othman, J., Witzke, P., & Jusoh, S. (2017). Risks and opportunities from key importers pushing for sustainability: the case of Indonesian palm oil. Agricultural and Food Economics, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-017-0083-z
Jelsma, I., Schoneveld, G. C., Zoomers, A., & van Westen, A. C. (2017). Unpacking Indonesia’s independent oil palm smallholders: an actor-disaggregated approach to identifying environmental and social performance challenges. Land use policy, 69, 281-297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.08.012
Kadarusman, Y. B., & Herabadi, A. G. (2018). Improving Sustainable Development within Indonesian Palm Oil: The Importance of the Reward System. Sustainable Development, 26(4), 422–434. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1715
Karuniasa, M. (2020). Prinsip Ilmu Lingkungan. Universitas Indonesia.
Kiswanto, Purwanta, J. H., & Wijayanto, B. (2008). Teknologi Budidaya Kelapa Sawit: Seri Buku Inovasi: BUN/11/2008. Balai Besar Pengkajian dan Pengembangan Teknologi Pertanian.
Laras, N. P. (2017). Analisis Kebijakan Kemitraan Hutan Rakyat yang Berkelanjutan (Studi di Hutan Rakyat Kemitraan Desa Pasekaran, Kecamatan Batang, Kabupaten Batang). Sekolah Ilmu Lingkungan Universitas Indonesia.
Lee, J. S. H., Miteva, D. A., Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., & Saif, O. (2019). Does oil palm certification create trade-offs between environment and development in Indonesia? Environmental Research Letters, 15(12). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc279
Miller & Spoolman. (2016). Environmental Science Fifteenth Edition. Cengage Learning.
Permatasari, A. (2022). Tinjauan Kritis Pembangunan Berkelanjutan dari Perspektif Hukum Perdagangan dan Perubahan Iklim Internasional: Studi Kasus Komoditas Kelapa Sawit Indonesia. Program Magister Hukum Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia.
Ping, W. (2011). A brief history of standards and standardization organizations: a Chinese perspective. Eas-West Center Working Papers - Economic Series, 117, 25. http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/econwp117.pdf%5Cnhttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/21412
Rostow, W. W. (1959). The Stages of Economic Growth. The Economic History Review, 12(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/2591077
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). (2019). RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard For the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil. RSPO Board of Governors and adopted at the 16th Annual General Assembly by RSPO Members on 6 November, 2019.
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). (2020). Principles and Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil 2018 Include the Revised Supply Chain Requirements. RSPO Board of Governors and adopted at the 15th Annual General Assembly by RSPO Members on 15 November, 2018.
Senawi, R., Rahman, N. K., Mansor, N., & Kuntom, A. (2019). Transformation of oil palm independent smallholders through Malaysian sustainable palm oil. Journal of Oil Palm Research, 31(3), 496–507. https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2019.0038
Suleiman, M. A. (2014). Transnational Private Regulations for Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia. Social Science Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2614357
Suratin, A., Karuniasa, M., & Utomo, S. W. (2018). Is Sustainable Oil Palm Production Possible for Smallholders? Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.7454/jessd.v1i1.16
United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS). (2020). Belarus Expanded Crush Capacity Drives Soybean Imports. USDA Report. https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/app/index.html#/app/home
Watts, J. D., Pasaribu, K., Irawan, S., Tacconi, L., Martanila, H., Wiratama, C. G. W., ... & Manvi, U. P. (2021). Challenges faced by smallholders in achieving sustainable palm oil certification in Indonesia. World Development, 146, 105565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105565
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Andreas Budi Rahutomo, Mahawan Karuniasa, Evi Frimawaty
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
