Assessment of Smallholders’ Barriers to Adopt Sustainable Practices

Author(s):  
Diana Chalil

The significant increase in oil palm areas has led to concerns about the sustainability of the associated farming practices. To address these issues, the Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) organization formulated principles and criteria (P&C) for sustainable practices for members of the oil palm industry. Initially, only big companies applied for RSPO’s certificate of sustainable product. However, with the growing proportion of smallholders, they are strongly suggested to get involved. Currently, only a few smallholders have obtained the certificate. One possible reason is that the RSPO P&C might be too complicated for smallholders. Using a descriptive and correlation method, this study found that lack of information, cost of adoption and incompability with the stage of farm development, social values and farming conditions, inadequate managerial skills, and profitability explain the barriers for smallholders to adopt the RSPO’s P&C. These barriers need to be addressed in order to improve the adoption of sustainable practices among oil palm smallholders.

Pastura ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Ida Indrayani ◽  
James Hellyward ◽  
Yozil Alveni

This study was to determine the carrying capacity of palm oil plantation and oil palm industry waste could be used as beef cattle feed in West Sumatra. This study used a desk study method, it was the activity that searched secondary data such as the results of other relevant studies, official documents and other important records in several government agencies and other relevant institutions. The analysis showed people carrying capacity of palm oil plantations folk in West Sumatra with the utilization of forage, leaves no stick and palm frond as cattle feed as a whole can accommodate about 390 913 head of cattle. While carrying capacity of byproduct of palm oil processing wastes amounted to 465 812 head of cattle. Overall, therefore, the palm oil plantation folk, the state and the private sector is able to provide beef cattle feed to 856 725 head of cattle. It concluded that beef cattle still have a chancethe to be developed by use oil palm plantation and byproducts as a substitute for forages.Key words: oil palm plantation, carrying capacity, oil palm industry waste, beef cattle feed


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Royston Uning ◽  
Mohd Talib Latif ◽  
Murnira Othman ◽  
Liew Juneng ◽  
Norfazrin Mohd Hanif ◽  
...  

Palm oil production is a key industry in tropical regions, driven by the demand for affordable vegetable oil. Palm oil production has been increasing by 9% every year, mostly due to expanding biofuel markets. However, the oil palm industry has been associated with key environmental issues, such as deforestation, peatland exploitation and biomass burning that release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, leading to climate change. This review therefore aims to discuss the characteristics of oil palm plantations and their impacts, especially CO2 emissions in the Southeast Asian region. The tropical climate and soil in Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, are very suitable for growing oil palm trees. However, due to the scarcity of available plantation areas deforestation occurs, especially in peat swamp areas. Total carbon losses from both biomass and peat due to the conversion of tropical virgin peat swamp forest into oil palm plantations are estimated to be around 427.2 ± 90.7 t C ha−1 and 17.1 ± 3.6 t C ha−1 year−1, respectively. Even though measured CO2 fluxes have shown that overall, oil palm plantation CO2 emissions are about one to two times higher than other major crops, the ability of oil palms to absorb CO2 (a net of 64 tons of CO2 per hectare each year) and produce around 18 tons of oxygen per hectare per year is one of the main advantages of this crop. Since the oil palm industry plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Southeast Asian countries, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices would provide economic benefits while minimizing environmental impacts. A comprehensive review of all existing oil plantation procedures is needed to ensure that this high yielding crop has highly competitive environmental benefits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 786 ◽  
pp. 393-397
Author(s):  
Roejhan Md Kawi ◽  
Z.B. Razali ◽  
Muhammad Naufal Mansor ◽  
C.D.M. Asyraf

Farm workers in the Oil Palm industry in Malaysia are extremely exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) which is directly affected to the production outputs. This paper is to discuss the way to reduce the MSDs biomechanical load by using a new design of ergonomic palm oil fruit harvesting device. According to the observation, manual harvesting process by using conventional device or device was highly risk to undergo MSDs due to repetitive awkward posture. Thus, new device is proposed for reducing the effect of MSDs. Electromyography (EMG) evaluation was conducted to determine the reliability and the efficiency of the proposed method to reduce the risk of MSDs. Results of EMG show that the using of the proposed device provides less pain compare to the conventional device.


Food Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (S6) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
S.N. Sulin ◽  
M.N. Mokhtar ◽  
M.A.P. Mohammed ◽  
A.S. Baharuddin

The issue of food safety is a major concern in the oil palm industry as it will affect national income. 3-MCPD and GE are contaminants formed during the refining of palm oil, mainly in the deodorization step. Palm oil was reported to contain one of the highest levels of these contaminants amongst all vegetable oils. Both 3-MCPD and GE are characterized as a possible risk to human health. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive summary of the 3-MCPD and GE precursors and mitigation strategies to minimize the 3-MCPD and GE formation. Therefore, the oil palm industry should address these issues and find ways to comply with food laws, acts, regulations, and standards enforced by local and international authorities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godswill Ntsomboh Ntsefong ◽  
Hermine Ngalle-Bille ◽  
Walter Ajambang ◽  
Benoit Constant Likeng-Li-Ngue ◽  
Tabi-Mbi Kingsley ◽  
...  

Palm oil from <em>Elaeis guineensis</em> Jacq. of the Arecaceae family is the main traditional cooking oil in most parts of tropical Africa. Oil palm cultivation requires large areas of land and the consumption of crude palm oil from it raises health concerns notably with regards to the incidence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. The industry has therefore been faced with two major controversies. Firstly, palm oil which contains about 50% saturated fatty acids is considered to be unhealthy for human consumption because its saturated fatty acids raise blood LDL cholesterol level and increase the risk of the above mentioned diseases. Secondly, due to its land intensive nature, the oil palm industry is linked to deforestation, climate change and socioeconomic instability. For these reasons, the oil palm industry has been at the forefront of environmental and reputational challenges. This paper briefly presents an overview of these controversies surrounding the oil palm industry, while highlighting the possible outlets for environmentally friendly production processes and improvement strategies for better oil quality.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelechi E Anyaoha ◽  
Lulu Zhang

Energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will increase significantly in the developing world. Scaling up bioenergy use and reducing GHG emissions is vital to achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions and advance the greener economy. This study explored the life cycle inventories of Nigeria’s palm oil processors towards supporting technology advancement and renewable energy transition in the African oil palm industry. We compiled a gate-to-gate life cycle inventory of large-scale, semi-mechanized, and smallholder processors of oil palm fresh fruit bunch in Nigeria. The inventory includes materials and energy inputs to the system and outputs and emissions to the environment. The inputs are diesel, water, electricity, empty fruit bunch, palm kernel shell and mesocarp fibre for a functional unit of 1 tonne of fresh fruit bunch while the outputs include crude palm oil, palm kernel, and all emissions to air and soil. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and dinitrogen oxide (N2O) emissions were 47% and 73% more in the smallholder mills than in the large-scale mills, respectively. The semi-mechanized mills produced 73% more N2O than the large-scale mills. In contrast, large-scale mills emit 71% more methane (CH4) than smallholder and semi-mechanized mills. The study reveals critical hot spots of GHG emissions in Nigeria’s oil palm industry, including CO2, N2O, and CH4 from the smallholder, semi-mechanized, and large-scale processors, respectively. These findings will contribute to supporting policymaking, technology advancement, and promoting the use of bioenergy within and outside the industry as an essential strategy for mitigating climate change.


1985 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-212
Author(s):  
Colin Barlow

The oil palm (Elaeis guineesis Jacq) is the highest yielding of all oil-bearing plants. It grows in tropical areas, and does best with a rainfall of 2000 mm or more per year, no marked dry or wet seasons, and considerable sunshine. Recently its area has expanded rapidly, and by the year 2000 its main product, palm oil, which is used primarily for making margarine and other edible fats, is expected to have almost quadrupled its present output.


2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatimah Mahmud ◽  
Baba Md Deros ◽  
Dzuraidah Abdul Wahab ◽  
Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman

Malaysia is the largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Nevertheless, Malaysia may soon lose its position if there are lacks of initiatives to sustain it. Benchmarking can be used to stimulate process improvement by determining best practices across oil palm organizations through understanding critical success factors which enabled higher performance in leading organizations. The main objective of this paper is to identify benchmarking barriers that hinder or disrupt the benchmarking implementation in oil palm industry. To achieve these objectives, 700 sets of questionnaire were distributed among oil palm planters and millers in Malaysia. The survey results had indicated that the three main obstacles faced in implementing benchmarking in oil palm industry are: lack of understanding of benchmarking knowledge, lack of clarity with regard to specific areas to be benchmarked and management culture. In the authors’ opinion this survey findings would be useful and considerable interest to all level of benchmarking practitioners in the oil palm industry.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhatun Najat Maluin ◽  
Mohd Zobir Hussein ◽  
Abu Seman Idris

The increase in the world’s oil demand due to the rise of the global population urges more research into the production of sustainable vegetable oilseeds, among which palm oil is the most suitable candidate as it is the most efficient oilseed crop in the world. In an effort to drive the oil palm industry in the areas of food safety and security nanotechnology could offer a sustainable alternative. However, the utilization of nanotechnology in the oil palm industry is still limited. In this review, we aim to encourage the researchers to fully utilize nanotechnology as an alternative solution to tackle the challenges faced by the oil palm industry. Moreover, we also aim to highlight the opportunities for nanotechnology development in oil palm-based related research. The major points are as follows: (1) Nanosensing enables real-time monitoring of plantation status and crop progression, including soil, water and nutrient management, early pest/disease detection, and the spreading of pests/diseases. The use of nanosensing conveniently extends into advanced breeding topics, such as the development of disease-tolerant plants; (2) Nanotechnology could be the answer for the development of integrated management of pest and disease. Active agricultural ingredients can be entrapped or encapsulated into nanocarrier systems to improve their solubility, stability, enhance their efficient delivery to site-specific targets, with longer shelf life, and consequently improved efficacy; (3) Valuable nanomaterials can be isolated and generated from oil palm biomass waste. The utilization of oil palm biomass waste could overcome the issue of the massive production of waste in the oil palm industry and palm oil mills, where oil only accounts for 10% of the biomass, while 90% is comprised of the generated biowastes. (4) Palm oil can be utilized as a green alternative as a capping and stabilizing agent in the biosynthesis of metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles. In addition, nanoemulsion formulations using palm oil in drug delivery systems offer advantages such as low toxicity, enhance bioavailability and solubility of the drugs, apart from being inexpensive and environmentally friendly.


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