In their website on palm oil, Solidaridad provides the following estimate: smallholders are responsible for 40% of total palm oil production. I would like to know how accurate might be that figure. I am interested in estimates at local, regional and global level.
http://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/supply-chains/palm-oil
In Colombia, Leech notes that large palm oil companies are responsible for 75% of palm oil cultivation, with small independent growers responsible for 25% (Leech, 2006, “Fuelling Underdevelopment in Colombia: Poverty, Human Rights and Canada’s Role in the African Palm Oil Sector”). His source is an interview with a Fedepalma representative (Colombia’s national federation of palm growers). Mingorance (2006, “The Flow of Palm Oil Colombia–Belgium/Europe”, pp.13-14) also talks about small-scale palm producers (but doesn’t give a figure). Also, my article (Maher, 2015, “Rooted in Violence: Civil War, International Trade and the Expansion of Palm Oil in Colombia) briefly discusses this point (on p. 309) in terms of the financial difficulties facing small-scale growers in Colombia (which could explain why the majority of cultivation is carried out by large-scale growers).
Hi David,
thank you for your answer, it is very useful! I also read your paper that I found very interesting, especially the linkage between paramilitaries and palm oil in the Meta region. You might also be interested in the work of Victoria Marín-Burgos who has a political ecology thesis on the palm oil sector in Colombia.
Best,
Antonio
Hi Antonio,
Many thanks for your message. I will look at the aforementioned scholarship as soon as I get the chance.
Kind regards,
David
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Materials Science
- Materials
- Inorganic Materials
- Metals
- Alloys
- Steel