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new study has cast doubt on the sustainability of Indonesia’s palm oil industry as it shows that many independent, small-scale oil palm farmers are facing immense challenges in producing sustainably, with little to no government support.

The study, conducted by the Earth Innovation Research Institute (INOBU) from 2014 to 2015, interviewed 1,229 small and independent farmers in Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan regencies, Central Kalimantan.

The study identified major challenges preventing independent farmers from cultivating oil palm productively and sustainably.

The main challenges are the legal recognition of their land rights; a lack of access to credit, fertilizers and training; and the lack of fair terms and prices for the sale of freshly harvested fruit bunches.

“One of the reasons their productivity is very low is because there are still many farmers who do not receive training, especially indigenous farmers,” INOBU innovation manager Ofra Shinta Fitri said during the launch of the report on Tuesday.

According to the study, of 1,229 farmers, only 15 — all of whom were transmigrants — said they had received training from government agriculture agencies or trainers.

Furthermore, only 20 farmers said they could distinguish good palm oil kernels from bad ones, while only 13 farmers said they had access to information about palm oil cultivation from agriculture trainers, other farmers or relatives.

The study also found that many farmers did not have legal recognition of their land in the form of freehold (SHM) certificates, which are seen as the strongest evidence of land ownership and are issued by the National Land
Agency (BPN).

The lack of legal recognition made it difficult for the farmers to access loans from banks as they did not have SHM, which can be used as collateral for credit.

According to the study, only 60 percent and 11 percent of farmers in Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan, respectively, had SHM.

The remaining farmers had land information papers (SKT), which are used to apply for SHM certificates, or indigenous land information papers (SKTA), which cannot be used to apply for SHM.

SKT are issued by village or subdistrict heads, while SKTA are issued by indigenous community leaders.

Some of the farmers interviewed said they did not want to apply for SHM because they wanted to avoid paying taxes or did not have enough money to apply.

“If they don’t have SHM, how can banks issue loans for these farmers?” said Mansuetus Alsy Hanu, national coordinator for the Oil Palm Smallholders Union.

Besides identifying the problems facing farmers, the study also mapped out data on them, such as their origins and locations, as there is currently no true data on small independent farmers in Indonesia.

“The regional administration never collects data on small independent farmers. If there are no names of small-scale farmers that the government wants to empower, then who will they empower?” Mansuetus said.