Sustainability Certification in Oil Palm Industry: Issues and Challenges for Independent Smallholder Farmers in Malaysia

Abstract

Sustainability certification such as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification outlines the agricultural practices that need to be followed by all the stakeholders within the supply chain so that the loss of environmental resources can be reversed, and social effects can be reduced. Despite its crucial role, the supply chains, particularly the independent smallholder farmers, do not seem to take sufficient efforts to obtain this certification. The reason for this lack of efforts may be due to communication barriers, leading to lack of awareness in the existence of such certification. This paper is a systematic literature review of the available studies on sustainability certification and issues in obtaining the certification. The studies selected were published between 2015 and 2020. The review identified three-layered challenges that led to communication barriers to obtaining the sustainability certification. The layers included engagement, pre-certification, and post-certification. The identification of these layers provides insight into the communication barriers that hinder the independent smallholder farmers from accessing information and obtaining the certification. It is hoped that the issues and challenges identified could help the researchers to propose a framework that can reduce and resolve the communication barriers in obtaining the sustainability certification.