Barriers and Benefits Arising from the Adoption of Sustainable Certification for Smallholder Oil Palm Producers in Malaysia: A Systematic Review of Literature

Nurul Fathiah Aziz,Norshamliza Chamhuri,Peter J Batt

doi:10.3390/su131810009

Nurul Fathiah Aziz, Norshamliza Chamhuri + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810009

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Abstract

Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil, which, not unexpectedly, is one of the largest contributors to the country’s GDP. However, the Malaysian palm oil industry faces numerous issues, including a boycott for imports into the European Union (EU) on the basis that Malaysia does not allegedly practice good agriculture, fails to meet sustainability standards and exploits labor rights. To overcome the situation, the Government of Malaysia is strongly committed to implementing good agricultural practices that meet international sustainability standards through sustainable certification. To facilitate the adoption of sustainable certification by smallholder palm oil producers, through a comprehensive review of the literature, this study seeks to identify the social, environmental and economic benefits derived from sustainable certification.

Highlights

The agriculture sector plays an important role in generating income and providing a large number of employment opportunities for smallholder farmers, especially in the developing countries
This study aims to bridge the gap between research and the practice of sustainability by smallholders in the Malaysian palm oil industry
Based on the literature identified, several key benefits were identified for smallholder palm oil producers in Malaysia to obtain sustainable certification, especially the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)

Summary

Introduction

The agriculture sector plays an important role in generating income and providing a large number of employment opportunities for smallholder farmers, especially in the developing countries. Indonesia (57%) is the world’s largest palm oil producer, followed by Malaysia (26%) and Thailand (3%). As palm oil is in high demand in the Indonesian domestic market, Indonesia is the world’s largest consumer of palm oil followed by India and China. According to a senior official in the Indonesian palm oil industry, Indonesia’s production is higher than that of Malaysia’s, Indonesia is unable to match the quality of Malaysian palm oil [3]. The variation in quality is believed to arise from differences in the processing of the kernels: in Indonesia, 40% of palm oil production is derived from smallholder producers who do not have a standardized system

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