Social impacts of oil palm in Indonesia

Download or read book Social impacts of oil palm in Indonesia written by Tania Murray Li and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2015-05-07 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oil palm plantations and smallholdings are expanding massively in Indonesia. Proponents highlight the potential for job creation and poverty alleviation, but scholars are more cautious, noting that social impacts of oil palm are not well understood. This report draws upon primary research in West Kalimantan to explore the gendered dynamics of oil palm among smallholders and plantation workers. It concludes that the social and economic benefits of oil palm are real, but restricted to particular social groups. Among smallholders in the research area, couples who were able to sustain diverse farming systems and add oil palm to their repertoire benefited more than transmigrants, who had to survive on limited incomes from a 2-ha plot.