Systematic Literature Review on the Social and Economic Impacts of Palm Oil Certification on Smallholders

Abstract

Enhancing smallholder compliance to palm oil certification standards helps in achieving the global sustainability agenda. Oil palm smallholders are one of the vital parts of the global certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) supply chain. However, little is known about on the importance of palm oil certification for the social and economic development of smallholders. This present study aims to systematically review the social and economic benefits received by smallholders in implementing palm oil certification. The review was conducted in accordance with the published standard, namely the PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses). The articles of this study were chosen from two major databases, namely Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). The results show that smallholders gained both immediate and long-term social (livelihood, social network and agricultural practices) and economic (financial management, income, price and production) benefits through palm oil certification. If these benefits can be extended to all smallholders, it will help to boost the participation of smallholders in certification. The current progress, impacts and challenges faced by oil palm smallholders in palm oil certification implementation were discussed comprehensively. Future research and suggestions on the contributions of oil palm smallholders in successful certification were summarised. This eventually leading to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for benefits of the whole supply chain of Malaysian palm oil industry.