InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Government efforts to bring oil palm plantations inside forest areas under a new governance framework are raising a fundamental economic question: who will ultimately control the plantations and benefit from the palm oil they produce?

The Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS), an Indonesian smallholder organization, says the impact of plantation enforcement should not be measured solely by how much land is brought under state control.

The organization argues that authorities must also determine who will manage the plantations, harvest fresh fruit bunches (FFB), sell the production and receive the resulting income.

SPKS Advocacy Department Head Marselinus Andri raised the issue during the Pre-National Conference on Smallholder Plantations II webinar on Friday, September 4, 2026.

“If control changes, the question is no longer only who controls the land. We also need to ask who sells the production and who receives the economic benefits from the oil palm,” Andri said.

Plantation Enforcement Could Reshape Farmers' Income

An oil palm plantation is more than land and trees. For smallholders, it represents an entire economic chain—from managing the plantation and harvesting FFB to selling the crop and receiving income.

Before enforcement measures are introduced, farmers generally manage their plantations, harvest the fruit and sell the production to generate household income.

But when ownership or management arrangements change, the position of farmers can also change significantly.

SPKS says the government therefore needs to assess what happens to farmers after a plantation is brought under a new governance structure.

The issue is not merely administrative or legal. It directly concerns the sustainability of rural livelihoods.

What Happens to Existing Oil Palm Trees?

Another concern involves plantations that are subsequently managed by different parties.

Andri questioned what will happen to the existing oil palm trees, how harvesting will be organized, where the FFB will be sold and how the resulting revenue will be distributed.

“How about the trees and the harvesting system? What happens to the FFB, the sales, the receipts and the income for farmers?” he said.

These questions become increasingly important when plantations previously managed by smallholders are transferred into a new management scheme.

SPKS also wants greater clarity regarding the farmers' position in the verification and legalization of management arrangements following enforcement actions.

At the center of the debate is the question of who will receive the economic benefits generated by the plantation.

Transparency Needed in Operational Cooperation Schemes

SPKS has also raised concerns over the use of joint operational cooperation, or KSO, as a potential mechanism for managing plantations following enforcement.

Andri said the legal basis, implementation mechanism and profit-sharing arrangements under a KSO scheme need to be transparent.

The identities of parties involved and those receiving the economic benefits should also be clearly established.

According to SPKS, this is crucial because changes in plantation management directly affect farmers' access to harvests and income.

The organization also warned that enforcement could have broader social, economic and cultural consequences.

Some plantations managed by communities have been passed down through generations. As a result, changes in control cannot be separated from the historical relationship between local communities and their land.

SPKS Calls for Farmer Mitigation Measures

SPKS is calling for a mitigation process and concrete solutions for farmers affected by plantation enforcement.

Andri said the government should not consider the process complete simply because an official sign has been installed on a plantation.

Instead, authorities should conduct verification, classify farmers according to their circumstances, determine the legal status of the land and establish an appropriate resolution for each case.

The process, he argued, needs to provide clarity on verification, farmer classification, land status and legal certainty.

Success Should Not Be Measured Only by Land Taken Over

For SPKS, the success of government enforcement in forest areas should not be judged solely by the amount of land taken over.

A more meaningful measure is whether the new governance system provides legal certainty while protecting farmers' livelihoods.

The organization believes the government must ensure that the palm oil value chain continues to generate clear and transparent benefits, particularly for farmers who previously depended on the plantations for their income.

The debate ultimately extends beyond land ownership. It concerns the future of rural communities, the management of existing oil palm plantations and the distribution of economic value generated from the sector. (T2)

Source: InfoSAWIT