PALMOILMAGAZINE, KAUR – Amidst stretches of oil palm plantations, maize grows side by side with palm trees. This is not the result of a newly launched program, but a long-standing farming tradition now gaining renewed attention through the visit of Rosa de Vos from the Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University & Research, under the SustainPalm project.
According to Arconesia CEO Jusrian Saubara Orpayanda, very little land around local settlements is left idle. “If land is accessible, it will be planted. More often than not, it’s maize. It would be a waste to leave the soil unused,” he wrote on LinkedIn, quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com, Friday (Sept 19, 2025).
This intercropping practice grew out of necessity rather than government intervention. While official programs have promoted oil palm–maize or oil palm–rice integration, farmers in Kaur have long been ahead of the curve. Even when the government distributes seeds, farmers often question their quality, preferring to purchase their own to avoid the risk of crop failure.
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The choice of maize is not driven purely by profit. Financially, maize lags far behind horticultural crops such as watermelon. Yet history explains this preference. In the past, rice dominated local agriculture. Over time, however, deteriorating irrigation systems forced farmers to switch to more drought-tolerant crops like maize. From there, an ecosystem was built: middlemen who buy the harvest, shops selling seeds and fertilizers, and the spread of technical know-how. By the time oil palm arrived, maize cultivation was already well established.
The benefits are clear. Intercropping allows farmers to produce food without the need to clear more forests. With 16 million hectares of oil palm plantations across Indonesia—40% of which are managed by smallholders—the potential contribution to national food security is significant.
Challenges remain, however. How can this system be scaled up? “Teaching oil palm farmers who have never grown maize is not simple. It requires a full ecosystem: quality inputs, technical knowledge, and market access,” Jusrian explained. Without these, adoption will only occur sporadically.
The experience in Kaur highlights an important lesson: the success of intercropping is not just about agronomic evidence. Social and business dimensions are equally critical in ensuring the practice can grow sustainably and deliver broad benefits for local communities. (P2)
