Identification and Economic Contribution of Intercrops to the Income of Oil Palm Farmers on Bangka Island

Abstract

Oil palm smallholders have the initiative to plant intercrops in immature smallholder oil palm plantations to obtain additional income ahead of the oil palm harvest. The research was conducted to identify which intercrops were cultivated by farmers and to calculate the value of the contribution made to the income of oil palm farmers. The survey method was carried out in smallholder oil palm plantations on the island of Bangka. The researchers concluded that the types of intercrops cultivated by farmers included cucumber, tomato, long beans, and cassava. The intercropping contributes to income while at the same time supporting the maintenance costs of young oil palm plants. In this study, intercropping contributed 13.5% toward covering these costs. This means that intercrops are feasible to cultivate in order to intercrop with TBM oil palm plants so that they can cover the costs of oil palm farming before producing FFB.