The impact of oil palm and paddy production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Indonesia’s agricultural sector

Abstract

The most widely produced agricultural commodities in Indonesia are oil palm and paddy crops, which contribute the most to national income in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, in 2020, the agricultural sector contributed 9% to national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study aims to determine the effect of agricultural crop production, namely oil palm and paddy on GHG emissions in Indonesia’s agricultural sector from 2000-2020. Data for the study were obtained from the Directorate General of Climate Change, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and BPS-Statistics Indonesia. The GHG effect of agricultural crop production were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings showed that the production of oil palm and paddy crops significantly affects the agricultural sector’s GHG emissions. Oil palm and paddy production have a significant level of 5% with a regression coefficients of 0.4958 and 0.0003, respectively. From the findings, it can be implied that an increase in oil palm and paddy production will raise Indonesia’s agricultural sector GHG emissions. The government can draw up regulations related to (1) protecting forest areas and peatlands close to community residential areas so that land conversion does not occur in oil palm plantations and (2) a sustainable agricultural system to increase paddy productivity, hoping that the agricultural sector’s GHG emissions will decrease.