Oil Palm Plantations In Indonesia Research Articles

Local brokerage and international leverage: NGOs and land conflicts in Indonesia

AbstractThe rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has generated a large and growing number of conflicts between rural communities and palm oil companies over, mainly, access to land. Employing a detailed documentation of 150 such conflicts in four Indonesian provinces, this paper assesses and evaluates how local, national and international NGOs help communities address their grievances. We find that rights‐based activism characterises only a small portion of NGOs working on land conflicts, as a more common strategy revolves around political brokerage. NGOs generally fail to achieve significant impact, with the partial exception of (those connected with) international NGOs.

1998 - 2018: Analysis of Indonesian and Malaysian People's Palm Oil Plantations

This paper aims to analyze the oil palm plantations of the people of Indonesia and Malaysia in the last 1998-2018 years to be able to analyze the broadness, production and productivity trends and compare the performance of people's oil palm plantations in both countries. This research was conducted based on official documents issued by the statistics agencies of Indonesia and Malaysia by comparing the trend of the area, production and productivity of people's oil palm plantations in the period 1998-2018, then the data processing was done by mathematical methods so that the performance of people's oil palm plantations from both countries could be known. Discussion is carried out from the results of data analysis with descriptive analytical methods. The results of this study are known that; The area of planting and harvesting people's oil palm plantations in Indonesia is higher than Malaysia and still allows it to continue to grow beyond the dominance of private plantations in Indonesia; CPO production of mustard coconut plantations.

Urgency to accelerate replanting of Indonesian oil palm: A review of the role of seed institutions

The achievement of expanding the area and volume of Indonesian palm oil production does not in line with the productivity. The productivity of Indonesian oil palm is inseparable from the age of the plants, most of which have exceeded their productive age. In addition, there are indications that the use of illegitimate seeds is relatively significant, causing yield gaps to potential productivity. Efforts to increase the productivity and sustainability of oil palm plantations have been carried out by forming a particular agency that collects and manages oil palm plantation funds. One of the programs to increase productivity and sustainability is the “Replanting of Smallholder Palm Oil (PSR)” with a grant scheme for participating farmers selected based on specific requirements. The progress of replanting realization is plodding. The target of 180,000 hectares per year cannot be realized. Accelerated breakthroughs without neglecting the primary mission of increasing productivity and sustainability are very urgent. This paper describes the results of a review on the importance of supporting seed institutional innovation for the acceleration of PSR towards increasing productivity and sustainability of Indonesian oil palm plantations.

VARIASI PRODUK, HARGA DAN LAYANAN PURNA JUAL PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PADA SINAR SUKSES BERSAMA

Riau is an area that has largest oil palm plantations in Indonesia where to create good oil palm land requires existence of an excavator. This condition provides opportunities for entrepreneur engaged in excavator spare parts to increase sales. The aim of this research is to analyze the effect of product variation, price, and after-sales service on purchasing decision at Sinar Sukses Bersama. Population in this research is consumers who have shopped at Sinar Sukses Bersama. The research sample used was 100 respondents using accidental sampling technique. Data analysis technique used multiple linear regression analysis with assistance by SPSS program. The results showed that product variation, price and after-sales service had a positive and significant effect on purchasing decision at Sinar Sukses Bersama. Product variation were dominant variable in influencing purchasing decision.

The Implementation of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Policy in Managing Oil Palm Plantation in Indonesia

The purpose of this research is to look at the governance of sustainable oil palm plantation development in Jambi Province through an analysis of the role of the Jambi Provincial Government’s policies in realizing sustainable oil palm plantation management. The study used a qualitative approach to explain current findings on the sustainable development of oil palm plantations in Jambi province. The data in this study used an analysis of Jambi Province policy documents related to the oil palm plantation sector’s growth and development. This study’s results indicate the Jambi Province local government’s commitment to realizing environmentally friendly oil palm plantations. These results can be seen from the legal, licensing, and limitation aspects by applying the 7 ISPO principles, namely the application of oil palm development permits, application of technical guidelines for oil palm cultivation and management, environmental management and monitoring of oil palm plantations, responsibility for oil palm plantation workers palm oil, responsibility for the social community of oil palm plantations, empowerment of community economic activities and increase the sustainable business of palm oil plantations.

Antagonistic capacity of dark septate endophytes (DSE) against Ganoderma boninense from oil palm (Elaeis guinensis Jacq.)

Ganoderma boninense, a causal agent of basal stem rot, as one of the major problems in oil palm plantation in Indonesia. The potential of dark septate endophytes (DSE) as biocontrol agents for G. boninense is not widely studied. Therefore, this study aims to screen DSE strains to obtain high antagonistic strains. The antagonistic capacity of 10 DSE strains was determined based on the growth inhibition in the dual culture, and volatile compounds challenge against G. boninense, in vitro. Volatile compound profiling of selected DSE strains that showed the highest challenge capacity was done using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Among 10 DSE strains tested, TKC 2.2a had the highest percentage of G. boninense inhibition in dual cultures and the volatile compound challenge. This strain inhibited better if grown in media seven days earlier than grown simultaneously with G. boninsense. The volatile compounds of 14 days old TKC 2.2a were of 2H-1-Benzopyran-7-ol, 3,4-dihydro-5-methoxy-6-methyl-2-phenyl; 4-Allyl-2,6-dimetho-xyphenol; and hexa-decanoic acid, which were reported as having either antimicrobial or antifungal activities. These results indicate that DSE TKC 2.2a can be a candidate for a biocontrol agent against G. boninense in oil palm, depending on further research on its ability to reduce basal stem rot symptoms.

Protection of biodiversity in concession of sustainable palm oil

The increasing population growth is in line with the increasing world demand for vegetable oil. In 2050, the world population is projected to reach 9.8 billion people. With this population, the world’s vegetable oil needs reach 310 million tons. Total vegetable oil production in 2018 was only 200.8 million tons. The oil crops biologically have a potential to produce vegetable oil much more than with other plants in the same area of land. It means that it is economically more efficient than others. However, an unavoidable fact is that the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has encroached on forest areas, destroying biodiversity, and threatening environmental sustainability. Of the 9.1 million hectares of deforestation occurred in 2001 to 2016, 2.1 million hectares or 23% of the national deforestation turned to oil palm. In addition, of the 16.8 million hectares of Indonesian palm oil cover, 3.4 million hectares or 20.2% of oil palms are in forest areas. This article aims to diagnose the norms of biodiversity protection with the approach of protecting high conservation value areas and high carbon stocks in oil palm plantation concessions. Normatively referring to the concept of sustainable palm oil plantations, companies are obliged to protect areas that have high biodiversity values and high carbon stocks in their concession areas and are prohibited from being converted. This norm is very important to protect biodiversity in oil palm concessions. Unfortunately, Indonesia’s positive law does not yet have an optimal legal framework to protect this area, so it is necessary to strengthen specific norms and policies to protect biodiversity in sustainable palm oil plantation concessions.

Evaluating the feasibility of oil palm agroforestry in Harapan Rainforest, Jambi, Indonesia

About 2.5 million hectares of a total of 15 million hectares of oil palm plantation in Indonesia are planted in, or conflict with, the forest zone. Oil palm plantations face a conflict between socio-economic and ecological issues. This study was conducted in the Harapan Rainforest, Jambi to evaluate the potential of oil palm-based agroforestry to reconcile economic and ecological interests, by considering socio-economic and financial feasibility as well as biodiversity and land cover. The financial feasibility of oil palm agroforestry is compared to oil palm monoculture, employing a discounted cash flow approach using three indicators: net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and internal rate of return (IRR). Two ecological indicators—biodiversity and land cover—are evaluated in an experimental plot of oil palm agroforestry in Jambi. This study indicates that the NPV, BCR, and IRR of oil palm monoculture are IDR 62,644,836 (US$ 4,476.84), 1.39, and 20.77%, respectively, while the oil palm agroforestry planted in the experimental plot potentially generates much better values of financial indicators with NPV, BCR, and IRR being IDR 209,221,212 (US$ 14,951.76), 1.79, and 24.42%, respectively. Besides evaluating financial feasibility, we also found that the reviewed current studies indicate that the oil palm agroforestry provides positive ecological impacts, such as increased forest land cover, invertebrate fauna, and bird diversity.

Analisis Pendapatan, Daya Saing dan Dampak Kebijakan Pemerintah Terhadap Usaha Peternakan Sapi Perah Rakyat di Kabupaten Pelalalawan

The development of dairy cows in Pelalawan District is integrated with plantation crops (cow-oil). Riau Province has the largest oil palm plantation in Indonesia, which is 2.706 million hectares, so it has a potential source of feed for dairy cattle and is expected to have an impact on the competitiveness of cattle farming in Riau. The research was conducted on the people's dairy farming business in Pelalawan Regency, with the aim of knowing the level of profit, competitiveness and impact of government policies on dairy farming using the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM). The results showed that the average private breeders' profit was Rp. 19,481,081.55/head/lactation and social benefits of Rp. 20,431,492.21/head/lactation. Smallholder dairy farming in Pelalawan Regency has good competitive competitiveness (PCR=0.25) and comparative competitiveness (DRCR=0.24). Dairy farmers receive input subsidies from the government with an NPCI of 0.79 and are also burdened with an output tax with an NPCO of 0.93. Overall, government policies have not provided incentives (disincentives) for dairy farming in Pelalawan District with an EPC of 0.96.

Multi-layer agility: a proposed concept of business agility in organizational behavior perspective

Turbulence in the business environment imposed large companies or market leaders to become more agile in doing business. Developing business agility can be implemented in many levels of business organization. This paper proposes a multi-layer perspective of business agility construct by examining construct validity through structural equation modelling. Based on organizational behavior theory, this paper proposes combining construct from three different perspectives of business agility: strategic agility from an organizational perspective, leadership agility from a group perspective, and learning agility from an individual perspective. The paper involved 477 supervisors and managers of Indonesian oil palm plantations as respondents. The data was analyzed by using Lisrel version 9.30. The result explains that the second-order construct is the best-fit construct for defining multi-layer agility as a measurement model.

Effect of boric acid on the preservation of palm replanting wood waste

At present, the area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia is approximately 11 million hectares. In addition, to produce abundant palm oil, this palm plantation also produces waste in the form of replanted wood when regeneration is carried out. The aim of this research is the utilization of palm wood replanting waste by immersion treating with boric acid as a preservative with concentrations of 1; 2.5 and 5% and soaking time of 2, 4, 6 days. From the preliminary analysis of the replanting waste, the water content was obtained at 34.41%, flexural strength at 26.48 kg/cm2, and compressive strength at 3.73 kg/cm2. After the preservative treatment with boric acid with 2; 4; and 6 days immersion and drying process, it was found the decrease of water content, an increase of compressive strength and flexural strength. The 4 days immersion with boric acid 5% was the best treatment with the water content decreased to 0.31%, flexural strength increased to 47.60 kg/cm2 and compressive strength increased to 8.21 kg/cm2.

Impact of smallholder inclusivity to the sustainability of the marketing channel

Smallholders are a group of oil palm growers in Indonesia, having a share of more than 40% of the Indonesian oil palm plantation area. There are a number of weaknesses that limit their inclusivity in the industry, posing a risk to their sustainability. This study analyses this hypothesis through 3 different types of smallholders representing the highest to the lowest level of inclusivity, namely ex-plasma partner, independent partner, and independent non-partner. Data were collected from 217 smallholders, 8 village collectors, 4 RAM and 2 mills from the province of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra. Higher selling prices, lower profit margins, and more efficient marketing channel are used to indicate business sustainability. Shepherd, Acharya and Aggarwal, and Composite Index agree that higher selling prices and lower profit margins improve the marketing channel efficiencies, while the Marketing Efficiency Index and Soekartawi marketing efficiency values agree that lower cost of production will do so. The results show that on average, plasma/ex-plasma smallholders present the highest selling price, lowest total profit margin, and high production costs. This is caused by fertilizer usage that follows the recommended amount, improving productivity. Therefore, it can be concluded that inclusivity could improve the sustainability of smallholder marketing channels.

Preface

The International Conference of Biomass and Bioenergy (ICBB) 2020 was successfully conducted as a fully online conference by the Surfactant and Bioenergy Research Center (SBRC)-IPB University, Indonesia in cooperation with the International Society of Biomass and Bioenergy (ISBB); College of Engineering, Villanova University, USA; and Biomass Project Research Center, Hiroshima University, Japan. ICBB 2020 was sponsored by The Indonesian Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP Sawit) and IPB University. ICBB 2020 with the theme of Advanced Technology and Digital Innovations in Biomass, Bioenergy and Agriculture was the fifth international scientific conference on biomass and bioenergy hosted in Indonesia. This conference is conducted annually to raise current global issues in biomass and bioenergy fields.Due to COVID-19 related real conference and travel restrictions, ICBB 2020 online conference was held on 10-11 August 2020 by Zoom Webinar and Video Conference technology platform. ICBB 2020 was organized by SBRC-IPB University and hosted from IPB International Convention Center, Bogor, Indonesia. To maintain the continuity of the annual conference and the intention of scientists to disseminate and publish their research, as well as the uncertainty of the end time for COVID-19, the ICBB 2020 stakeholders and associates decided to hold a virtual conference and not postpone the conference.List of Committees of the International Conference of Biomass and Bioenergy 2020 are available in this pdf.

Assessment of CO2 flux from peat soil under simulated groundwater level and monthly rainfall for sustainable water management in a tropical oil palm plantation

Sustainable production of oil palm plantation in tropical peat land is determined by ground water level and rainfall as the important factors controlling the carbon balance. It is not easy to set up a stable groundwater level (GWL) in the field and even more impossible for the monthly rainfall (MRF) to get CO2 flux data as the basis for determining technical aspects of water management. This research was aimed to obtain basic CO2 flux data under simulated stable GWL and MRF from tropical peat materials of an Indonesian oil palm plantation. The experiment was conducted by applying CRD with those 2 factors as the treatments for 3 months period of greenhouse experimentation. There was no significant interaction effect of the GWL and MRF treatments. The single effect of GWL treatment at −40 cm produced the significant lowest monthly CO2 flux with an average of 18.26 t.ha−1.year−1 after 3 months experimentation, while that of MRF at 300 mm.month−1 resulted in the significant lowest CO2 flux of 24 t.ha−1.year−1 after 2 months experimentation. It can be recommended that the GWL should be set up in the field at around –40 cm to get the best control on CO2 flux.

STUDY OF THE UTILIZATION OF PALM OIL INDUSTRY LIQUID WASTE

Palm oil is one of the plantation crops that have high economic value and is growing rapidly. The wider the area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, the more palm oil mills will process palm fresh fruit marks and produce waste from processed palm oil, namely solid waste and liquid waste. Each tonne of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) processed at the plant will potentially leave waste of about 23% empty palm oil, 4% wet decanter solid, 6.5% shell, 13% fiber, and 50% liquid waste. This review will discuss the utilization of palm oil mill liquid waste (LCPKS) which is organic material that still contains many benefits such as nutrients, therefore the application of liquid waste is an effort to recycle some of the nutrients (recycling nutrients) which is followed by harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from oil palm so that it will reduce the cost of fertilization which is classified as very high for oil palm cultivation. During the processing of oil palm fruit into palm oil in the palm oil industry, the remaining process is obtained in the form of liquid waste. If done properly, the liquid waste of the palm oil industry is considerable potential and can increase the added value of waste itself.Keywords: liquid waste industry, palm oil, utilization

A map of the extent and year of detection of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand

In recent decades, global oil palm production has shown an abrupt increase, with almost 90% produced in Southeast Asia alone. To understand trends in oil palm plantation expansion and for landscape-level planning, accurate maps are needed. Although different oil palm maps have been produced using remote sensing in the past, here we use Sentinel 1 imagery to generate an oil palm plantation map for Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand for the year 2017. In addition to location, the age of the oil palm plantation is critical for calculating yields. Here we have used a Landsat time series approach to determine the year in which the oil palm plantations are first detected, at which point they are 2 to 3 years of age. From this, the approximate age of the oil palm plantation in 2017 can be derived.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Peat CH4 and N2O Fluxes and Their Contribution to Peat GHG Budgets in Indonesian Forests and Oil Palm Plantations

Land-use change in tropical peatlands substantially impacts peat emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in addition to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). However, assessments of full peat greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets are scarce and CH4 and N2O contributions remain highly uncertain. The objective of our research was to assess changes in peat GHG flux and budget associated with peat swamp forest disturbance and conversion to oil palm plantation and to evaluate drivers of variation in trace gas fluxes. Over a period of one and a half year, we monitored monthly CH4 and N2O fluxes together with environmental variables in three undrained peat swamp forests and three oil palm plantations on peat in Central Kalimantan. The forests included two primary forests and one 30-year-old secondary forest. We calculated the peat GHG budget in both ecosystems using soil respiration and litterfall rates measured concurrently with CH4 and N2O fluxes, site-specific soil respiration partitioning ratios, and literature-based values of root inputs and dissolved organic carbon export. Peat CH4 fluxes (kg CH4 ha−1 year−1) were insignificant in oil palm (0.3 ± 0.4) while emissions in forest were high (14.0 ± 2.8), and larger in wet than in dry months. N2O emissions (kg N2O ha−1 year−1) were highly variable spatially and temporally and similar across land-uses (5.0 ± 3.9 and 5.2 ± 3.7 in oil palm and forest). Temporal variation of CH4 was controlled by water table level and soil water-filled pore space in forest and oil palm, respectively. Monthly fluctuations of N2O were linked to water table level in forest. The peat GHG budget (Mg CO2 equivalent ha−1 year−1) in oil palm (31.7 ± 8.6) was nearly eight times the budget in forest (4.0 ± 4.8) owing mainly to decreased peat C inputs and increased peat C outputs. The GHG budget was also ten times higher in the secondary forest (10.2 ± 4.5) than in the primary forests (0.9 ± 3.9) on the account of a larger peat C budget and N2O emission rate. In oil palm 96% of emissions were released as CO2 whereas in forest CH4 and N2O together contributed 65% to the budget. Our study highlights the disastrous atmospheric impact associated with forest degradation and conversion to oil palm in tropical peatlands and stresses the need to investigate GHG fluxes in disturbed undrained lands.

Innovation for the development of environmentally friendly oil palm plantation in Indonesia

Oil palm is a very common commodity in rural communities of Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the farming activities in these areas create a high multiplier effect and increase welfare. However, the expansion of oil palm areas puts pressure on forests and resources. The research was carried out through a survey using the developmental research method. Efforts to implement sustainable development in the plantation sector need to be carried out to develop palm in the second cycle. One of the efforts is to implement agroforestry by planting forestry plants between oil palm trees, namely meranti trees (Shorea leprosula Miq). The model for the development of meranti is a monoculture palm plantation that is integrated with meranti trees. This has ecological, economic, and social benefits, following the basic concepts of environmental management. Planting copper meranti between palm trees has multiple benefits for the community, such as wood production. Planting copper meranti between oil palm trees has multiple benefits for the community, timber production as additional income for farmer families.

The impact of sustainable palm oil management on sustainable landscape

With a total area of 16.3 million ha, oil palm plantations in Indonesia are crucial in realizing a sustainable landscape. South Tapanuli District was chosen for this study due to their high conservation value and the possession of a Sustainable Palm Oil Action Plan that is internalized in the Regional Plan document. The analysis was conducted descriptively using secondary data from legal documents and palm oil sustainable certificates, namely ISPO and RSPO, and primary data from 320 smallholders of 6 main commodities and stakeholders from 11 government offices, NGO, and local university. These data were analyzed with Statistical Descriptive Model using indicators of sustainability from economic and other commodity needs. The results show that Sustainable Palm Oil Management has been integrated in the South Tapanuli Landscape Management legal document. Sustainable Palm Oil Management has positive impacts on the economic needs of farmers, namely legal land status, productivity, and income, but does not contribute to the development of other commodities. The implementation of policies and programs is still sectoral with weak coordination between stakeholders. In general, Sustainable Palm Oil Management is potential to support Sustainable Landscape but requires further coordination and integration with the management of other commodities.

Smallholding farmers’ resilience towards economic and ecological disruption of oil palm plantations

Indonesian smallholder oil palm plantations are facing both economic and ecological challenges, therefore the farmers struggle to be resilient. This study constructs two purposes, (1) to measure the resilience level of smallholder plantations, and (2) to assess the effect of economic and ecological disruption on smallholders’ resilience. We interviewed a sample of 120 smallholders in South Bengkulu regency, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. The methodology deploys a quantitative method (statistics and econometrics) to analyze the effect of disruptive incidents on smallholders’ resilience. Resilience is indicated by farmers’ ability to adapt to changes, to recover from downturn business conditions or catastrophes, to anticipate risk, and to innovate new designs of farming activities. Resilience is categorized as less or more resilient (binary). The economic disruption is triggered by production, market, and investment circumstances. Meanwhile, ecological disruption is resulted from natural disasters, climate change, farmer’s treatment of the land, land fire, and government environmental policy. The result shows that more than 60% of smallholder oil palm plantations in Bengkulu Province are less resilient. Production uncertainty, bargaining position, climate change, and environmentally unfriendly farming behaviours increase the possibility of lowering smallholders’ resilience level.