Linking the transformation of production structures to a multidimensional sustainability assessment grid of smallholder's oil palm plantations
2015
Baudoin, Alice | Bosc, Pierre-Marie | Moulin, Margot | Wohlfahrt, Julie | Marichal, Raphael | Caliman, Jean-Pierre | Bessou, Cécile | Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad) | Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs (UMR MOISA) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM) ; Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM) ; Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Agro-Systèmes Territoires Ressources Mirecourt (ASTER Mirecourt) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) | SMART agribusiness and food [Jakarta] (SMART)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Oil palm cultivation has become emblematic of the trade-off between development and conservation that growers have to face in the context of global changes. This challenge between economic growth and environmental issues and the growing public debate regarding palm oil development and use require improving data availability to avoid ideological positions. The paper is a contribution towards the establishment of a multidimentional analysis grid to assess the sustainability of palm oil production based on an empirical survey with to levels : (i) holding and (ii) plot. We first aimed to present our approach based on World Agricultural Watch methodological framework. The empirical data were collected in Kampar District, Riau province, at holding level including one two oil palm plots showing contrasted levels of management (semi-managed and independent). Our first objective was to capture the global rationale of the holdings, to define a typology that would go beyond the usual size-based classification. After assessing the place and role of palm oil production within the household economy, we then tested a set of three-dimensional indicators (i.e. social, economic and environmental) to assess globally the impacts of oil palm development through smallholder development. In a region where oil palm cultivation tends to standardise the landscape, overwhelm the local economy and polarise the houshold's activity systems, we could identify a significant heterogeneity at holding and houshold levels. However, the strengthening of our methodology would require a larger sample.
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Bibliographic information
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