Comparison of Oil Palm Land Productivity Based on Land Ownership

Indonesia's palm oil (CPO and palm kernel) production in 2018 reached 48.68 million tons, utilizing a total land area of 14.3 million hectares. This figure comprises 16.80 million tons from smallholder plantations, 2.49 million tons from national large-scale plantations, and 29.39 million tons from private large-scale plantations. Based on data from IndexMundi, Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer, followed by Malaysia and Thailand in second and third place, respectively.

However, in terms of productivity, particularly CPO, Indonesian palm oil plantations yielded only 3.60 tons/hectare/year during the 2013-2018 period. Malaysia, meanwhile, achieved yields of 4 to 6 tons/hectare/year. Productivity varies based on land ownership, as shown in the graph. Smallholder plantations averaged 3.16 tons/hectare/year, national large-scale plantations 3.60 tons/hectare/year, and private large-scale plantations 3.94 tons/hectare/year.

The low productivity of smallholder plantations is attributed to the inadequate adoption of existing technologies and the insufficient use of certified superior seeds by farmers. Therefore, replanting of palm oil trees, particularly in smallholder plantations, is necessary.