The certification of oil palm ‘smallholder’

The vast expansion of large-scale oil palm plantations in rural Indonesia often comes with profound changes in the natural landscape and lives of communities. This study uses a class-based perspective to analyse the influence of the palm oil industry and RSPO certification scheme. This approach allows a nuanced understanding of who wins and who loses within the different classes of oil palm farmers and workers as they all engage in marketbased ‘solutions’ like the RSPO certification. Based on qualitative fieldwork techniques, the research deconstructs the concept of ‘smallholders’, which is often politically used by government and the industry, and examines the relationship and power plays between classes of oil palm farmers. Using the concept of greenwashing, the study also explores the problems within the RSPO certification system, especially how the scheme shifts responsibility onto consumers and contains loopholes allowing greenwashing strategies by the corporate sector. Indeed, a majority of day-to-day consumers has little means to learn about the problem associated with palm oil certification. The study shows that RSPO plays a crucial role in ensuring that consumers continue to purchase palm oil, even when the production remains highly problematic.