Certification of small oil palm producers. Problems and perspectives in Campeche, Mexico

Abstract

In recent years the state of Campeche has become one of the most important palm regions in Mexico thanks to small independent producers. The certification of plantations is essential for a sustainable development of the crop. The objective of this article is to describe the management practices of small producers with respect to the requirements of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), through the case study of a rural community with 20 years of venturing into cultivation. The results indicate that small producers lack the skills to carry out sustainable production practices and their level of compliance with the RSPO standard is low. It is necessary to implement associative schemes where the actors of the palm oil value chain collaborate to generate capacities that allow small producers to be certified under the principles and criteria of the RSPO.