Is oil palm the answer for rural poverty in Papua?

In Papua, the oil palm industry started in the 1980s — when state-owned PTPN II started an oil palm business in Arso and Prafi. The most recent study by the University of Papua (UNIPA) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) reveals that in terms of socioeconomic effects, oil palm estate development under the Nucleus smallholders estate (PIR) scheme has not been able to satisfactorily benefit local communities, who hold land rights. PIR schemes that rely on immigrant workers are prone to creating horizontal conflicts, injustice and envy among local communities toward immigrants.
Krystof Obidzinski — a senior scientist from CIFOR and also a researcher of the study — explained that “locals who have a lack of skills and knowledge to effectively engage in modern agriculture productions may not benefit economically from oil palm.”