Development through Large-Scale Oil Palm Agribusiness Schemes: Representations of Possibilities and the Experience of Limits in West Kalimantan

The potential of oil palm agribusiness for socio-economic development in Indonesia remains a matter of debate. There are important differences between the government’s representation of oil palm agribusiness as a panacea for the problems of development and the realities of this economic system as manifested on the ground. The analysis of land acquisition practices and labour regimes in an oil palm smallholding scheme in West Kalimantan brings fresh understanding to this debate. Diverse forms of socio-economic differentiation substantiate the need for nuanced representation of the role of oil palm agribusiness for development and suggest an approach to realistic understanding of its potential for development.