Oil palm expansion among Indonesian smallholders : adoption, welfare implications and agronomic challenges

Oil palm has become one of the most rapidly expanding crops throughout the humid tropics. Over the last two decades, the area under oil palm has almost tripled and its production more than quadrupled. This development is mainly attributed to the rising demand for vegetable oils and biofuels, favorable government policies in producer countries, as well as oil palm´s superior production potential and profitability compared to alternative land uses. Over 85% of the world´s palm oil production originates from Indonesia and Malaysia, which offer favorable agro-ecological growing conditions with ...