Does RSPO Certification Increase Smallholder Oil Palm Income? Evidence from Batanghari, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37637/ab.v9i1.2516Keywords:
certification impact, farm productivity, rural economy, smallholder certification, sustainable agricultureAbstract
This study analyzes income differentials between independent oil palm smallholders certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and non-certified farmers in Maro Sebo Ilir District, Batanghari Regency, Indonesia. Although certification is promoted as a mechanism to enhance smallholder welfare, empirical evidence remains inconclusive, and few studies examine net income differences disaggregated by plant age under uniform price conditions. Primary data were collected from September 2022 to August 2023 from 60 farmers (30 RSPO-certified and 30 non-certified), categorized into two plant age groups: 11–18 years and 19–26 years. Farm income was calculated as total revenue minus total cost and analyzed using independent-samples t-tests. The results indicate that RSPO-certified farmers achieved higher productivity and income despite incurring higher input costs. Average annual incomes among certified farmers reached IDR 25,600,675 and IDR 25,785,872 per hectare for the 11–18 and 19–26-year groups, respectively, compared with IDR 20,144,977 and IDR 20,766,920 among non-certified farmers. Income differences of approximately 27.1% and 24.2% were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that income gains are primarily associated with improved technical efficiency, intensified input use, and institutional support rather than price premiums, and remain contingent upon local market and institutional conditions.
References
Abubakar, A., Kasim, S., Ishak, M. Y., & Uddin, M. K. (2023). Maximizing Oil Palm Yield: Innovative Replanting Strategies for Sustainable Productivity. Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 5(2), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v5i2.5904
Ayompe, L. M., Schaafsma, M., & Egoh, B. N. (2021). Towards sustainable palm oil production: The positive and negative impacts on ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 278 (2021)123914,1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123914
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2025). Kabupaten Batanghari dalam Angka 2025. BPS Kabupaten Batanghari.
Comyns, B., & D’Antone, S. (2025). The moral legitimation of multi-stakeholder Initiatives: The case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Journal of Cleaner Production, 519(January 2024), 145963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145963
Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan. (2025). Statistik Perkebunan Indonesia. Buku Statistik Perkebunan Unggulan Nasional, 1–1016.
Hasnah, H., Noer, M., Febriamansyah, R., & Analia, D. (2026). Farmer Perspectives and Intentions in Establishing Palm Oil Processing Plants: Evidence from West Sumatra. Research on World Agricultural Economy, 133–156.
Herdiansyah, H., & Mamola, R. (2025). Palm oil conflict and social transformation: Exploring the intersection of farmer autonomy and conflict resolution. Trees, Forests and People, 21(July), 100934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2025.100934
Hutabarat, S. (2022). ISPO dan Keberlanjutan Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit di Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 13(2), 130–139.
Hutagalung, B., Asmarantaka, R. W., & Adhi, A. K. (2024). Marketing analysis of Indonesian sustainable palm oil (ISPO) and non-ISPO certified independent palm oil in Batanghari Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia. Agro Bali: Agricultural Journal, 7(1), 56–69. https://doi.org/10.37637/ab.v7i1.1431
Kubitza, C. A. (2022). Land-use change and rural development in Indonesia: Economic, institutional and demographic aspects of deforestation and oil palm expansion.
Linuo, Z., Ppe, D., & Bhd, S. (2024). International Action Research Conference (Iarc) 2024 Conference Proceedings. 10–12.
Muharani, L., Yazid, M., & Adriani, D. (2020). Evaluation of Smallholder Oil Palm Plantation Sustainability in Tidal Lowlands of Pulau Rimau Sub-District of Banyuasin Regency. Jurnal Lahan Suboptimal : Journal of Suboptimal Lands, 9(1), 80–88. https://doi.org/10.33230/jlso.9.1.2020.454.
Nainggolan, H. L. (2023). Analisis pendapatan usahatani dan strategi peningkatan pemahaman petani atas biaya lingkungan kelapa sawit rakyat di Kabupaten Batu Bara, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Agro Bali: Agricultural Journal, 6(1), 171–187. https://doi.org/10.37637/ab.v6i1.1164
Nurchalidah, S., & Priwiratama, H. (2019). Response of Application of Fungicides to Leaves Disease in Palm Oil Nurseries (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Marihat Oil Palm Business Research Center. Biologica Samudra, 1(1), 56–63.
Oliphant, E., & Simon, A. C. (2022). The cost of sustainable palm oil: Should an Indonesian smallholder pursue RSPO-certification? World Development Perspectives, 26(July), 100432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2022.100432
Renner, S., Ruml, A., Lakemann, T., Nuryartono, N., Tjoa, A., Corre, M. D., & Lay, J. (2024). Smallholder RSPO certification, economic benefits and agrochemical use. Environmental Research Letters , 19(11). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad8367.
Richartz, C. (2025). Impact of organic and RSPO certifications on smallholder welfare and pricing outcomes. Sustainable Production and Consumption.
Rizzo, G., Migliore, G., Schifani, G., & Vecchio, R. (2024). Key factors influencing farmers’ adoption of sustainable innovations: a systematic literature review and research agenda. Organic Agriculture, 14(1), 57–84.
RSPO. (2024). Regression analysis results: Impact of sustainable practices on community income. RSPO.
Soekartawi. (2002). Analisis Usahatani. UI- Press. Jakarta.
Suardi, T. F., Sulistyowati, L., Noor, T. I., Setiawan, I., & Nainggolan, M. F. (2025). Sustainable Palm Oil (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Agribusiness Development in Indonesia: An Integrated Model. Agrikultura, 36(3), 594–609.
Tampubolon, D., Khilfatul Khamidah, M. E., Hadi Sutrisno, S. E., Agus Suprapto, S. P., MP, I. P. M., Abdussamad, S. N., Stat, S., Stat, M., Mesak Yandri Masela, S. E., & Dev, M. E. (2025). Statistika Ekonomi Dan Bisnis. Cendikia Mulia Mandiri.
Triola, M. F. (2018). Elementary Statistics (13th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). (2022). World Population Prospects 2022: Methodology of the United Nations population estimates and projections. New York: United Nations.
Veriasa, T. O., Nurrunisa, M., & Fadhli, N. (2024). Revisiting the Implications of RSPO Smallholder Certification Relative to Farm Productivity in Riau, Indonesia. Forest and Society, 8(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v8i1.26964
Xu, Y., Yu, L., Ciais, P., et al. (2022) Recent expansion of oil palm plantations into carbon-rich forests, Nature Sustainability, 5, pp. 574–577.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyrights and Licenses
Please find the rights and licenses in Agro Bali: Agricultural Journal.
Agro Bali : Agricultural Journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public to supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
By submitting the paper/manuscript, the author(s) agree with this policy. No specific document sign-off is required.
A. Right
- Submission of a manuscript implies that the submitted work has not been published before (except as part of a thesis or report, or abstract); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors.
- The author(s) grant Agro Bali : Agricultural Journal the rights to the first publication of the works.
- The author(s) still hold the copyright of his/her/their work and retain publishing rights without restrictions such as (but not limited to) patent right, lecture, book and reproduce the article for own purposes.
B. License
- If and when the manuscript is accepted for publication in Agro Bali : Agricultural Journal, the author(s) grant the right of first publication to this journal with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Agro Bali : Agricultural Journal's spirit is to disseminate articles published are as free as possible. Under the CC BY SA 4.0 International License, Agro Bali : Agricultural Journal permits users to copy, distribute, display, and perform the works.
- Unless otherwise stated, the authors are public entities as soon as their articles got published.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
