Forest and Environmental Fires in Sustainable Palm Oil for Independent Smallholders

The plantation sector in Indonesia has developed into one of the country'smost important non-oil and gas sources of foreign exchange[1]–[3]. In 2016, the total production of oil palm plantations in Indonesia was 33.23 million tons. Large private companies manage 54.64 percent of the nation'soil Palm plantations [4], [5]. The pattern of self-help productivity is lower than that of large corporations. The expansion of oil palm plantations is an important keyword to understand the scope of the oil palm problem in Indonesia. CPO production centers in the provinces of Riau and North Sumatra account for 23.75 percent and 16.24 percent of total CPO output [6].

The Indonesian oil palm plantation industry is confronted with a number of challenges [7], [8]. A common accusation leveled against the palm oil industry is that it is unsustainable [9]–[11]. Using the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, the Indonesian government seeks to mitigate the negative perception of palm oil. Indragiri hilir region has three distinct patterns of oil palm plantation management [12], [13]. Lower Indragiri is characterized by land typologies, tides, and coastal areas that characterize the downstream geographical conditions of the river [14]. The selling price of FFB received by independent smallholders is significantly lower than that received by PIR pattern farmers (people'score company). Based on the description above the research aims to identify the role of farmers in the sustainable palm oil industry [15], [16].