Palm oil plantation expansion rate fell to 2% in 2018.

Following the issuance of Presidential Instruction Number 8 of 2018 regarding the moratorium and evaluation of palm oil plantation land licensing, the rate of palm oil expansion in 2018 fell to 2%. This growth rate is significantly lower compared to the previous year's 25.4%. The government hopes that by slowing down land expansion, palm oil businesses can focus on improving their productivity.

The increasing area of palm oil plantations is partly due to the rising demand for vegetable oil, especially crude palm oil (CPO), which is one of Indonesia's main export commodities. Compared to the palm oil plantation area in 1980, which was 295,000 hectares, it had reached 14.3 million hectares in 2018.

The expansion of palm oil plantations has had a positive impact on the socio-economic lives of the community. This includes changing the livelihood patterns of farmers and improving the quality of education in surrounding communities. However, uncontrolled land expansion also has an environmental impact, including deforestation of peatlands, which can increase carbon emissions. Besides environmental impacts, palm oil expansion also triggers agrarian conflicts.

(Read Databoks: How Large is the Moratorium on Palm Oil Plantation Land?)