Understanding the palm oil smallholders characteristics and their compliance towards the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO): A case study in North Sumatera, Indonesia

Abstract

Palm oil smallholder who managed more than 40% of palm oil area in Indonesia are expected to comply with the mandatory regulation of sustainable palm oil (ISPO). However, basically there are two types of smallholder whose condition need to be considered to develop the most suitable certification scheme. This paper aimed to (1) see the difference in socio-economic characteristics between independent and managed smallholders, (2) identify the behavioral factors of independent and managed smallholder as well as (3) analyze the compliance of smallholder towards ISPO indicators. The data of smallholders of Padang Lawas Regency, North Sumatera were collected in terms of socio-economic characteristics, behavioral factors, and compliance towards ISPO. The results of the study showed that socio-economic characteristics of independent and managed smallholder are significantly different in term of ages, education, family member, experiences, farm sizes, and on farm income. Besides, there is a wide gap between the behavioral factors of managed and independent smallholder towards ISPO indicators. It is implied by the attitude, social norm, ability to perform, and intention to comply with the sustainable scheme. However, in average, smallholders considered to have bad compliance towards the indicators of ISPO.