Smallholders in agro-industrial production: Lessons for rural development from a comparative analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s oil palm sectors

Ruml, Anette and Chrisendo, Daniel and Iddrisu, Abdul Malik and Karakara, Alhassan A. and Nuryartono, Nunung and Osabuohien, E. S. C. and Lay, Jann (2022) Smallholders in agro-industrial production: Lessons for rural development from a comparative analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s oil palm sectors. Land Use Policy, 119.

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Abstract

By successfully including smallholders, the oil palm boom in Southeast Asia has contributed significantly to rural economic development and poverty alleviation, notwithstanding its huge environmental costs. Oil palm pro- duction in other world regions is currently picking up, including in Africa. Yet it is uncertain whether the positive socioeconomic impacts from Southeast Asia can be replicated elsewhere. Little development gain may thus accompany severe environmental harm if oil palm expansion leads to deforestation. To shed light on the (pro- spective) role of oil palm for rural development we perform a systematic comparison of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s oil palm sectors at the macro and micro level, focusing on smallholder inclusion and using a mixed-methods approach. We identify substantial differences in structural conditions and policy foci that have led to two very different oil palm sectors. While the Indonesian experience clearly highlights the development opportunities coming with smallholder inclusion in agro-industrial production, our analysis shows that transferability to the West African context is limited due to regional specificities.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Oil palm Rural development Cross-country comparison Mixed methods
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	AKINWUMI
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2023 15:35
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2023 15:35
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/16838

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