Oil palm replanting is one of the measures taken to maintain the stability of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) production in a sustainable manner. The replanting targets palm trees that have surpassed their productive age, typically over 25 years, and replaces them with younger trees that yield higher productivity.
A team of undergraduate students from UGM’s Cultural Anthropology Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB UGM), Ana Choirina Afdila, and Muhammad Fahmi Rafsanjani, along with Tobias Graf from the University of Zurich, conducted a research project focusing on the social relationships and challenges that arise during the implementation of the People’s Palm Oil Replanting (PSR) program.
The students collected data and field notes using the participant observation method over a period of three months, beginning in April 2025, in Pampang Dua Village, Meliau District, Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan.
Several palm oil plantations in the region are entering replanting phases that must be carried out in stages.
“We conducted research that looked into various considerations such as cost, labor, continuity of production, and social issues like land access,” said Afdila in a statement to reporters on Monday, Jun. 2, 2025.
The replanting process is carried out through the PSR program managed by the Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS).
Additionally, the research also explored alternative economic opportunities for local communities during the period of the PSR program.
“This research aims to uncover issues emerging among farmers regarding the replanting process, whether they wish to continue planting palm oil, how they access replanting funds, and whether any alternative economic options are available to them beyond palm oil,” added Afdila.
The supervising lecturer of the research, Professor Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono, explained that the use of participant observation or ethnographic methods allowed students to live alongside local communities, particularly the farmers and other related actors.
This enabled the students to directly experience and engage in the daily lives of residents in Pampang Dua.
Professor Yuwono further emphasized the importance of this method in honing students’ sensitivity to local emotions, thoughts, and social relations.
“Hopefully, the outcomes of this research will not only serve as data for students’ final assignments but also be useful to stakeholders in realizing sustainable palm oil plantations,” he added.
For Afdila and Rafsanjani, the project provided an invaluable opportunity to deepen their field research experience.
It also posed unique challenges, as there is still limited social research on oil palm replanting in Indonesia.
Moreover, the collaboration with a student from Zurich made the research experience in West Kalimantan all the more memorable for the two UGM Anthropology students.
“I hope this research will not only contribute to my undergraduate thesis but also illustrate the complex social dynamics experienced by palm oil farmers during replanting, given the interlinked ecological, political, and economic aspects,” concluded Afdila.
Author: Lintang Andwyna
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna