Oil palm land expansion and sustainable agriculture challenges in rural areas of Indonesia
Received date: 2024-12-18
Revised date: 2025-11-26
Accepted date: 2026-04-29
Online published: 2026-05-22
The expansion of oil palm land in Indonesia has led to the increase of land connectivity, posing significant challenges due to substantial and heterogeneous land use changes, particularly in the rural areas of Jambi Province, Indonesia. Identifying the social, environmental, and economic drivers is critical for understanding how land use changes shape the spatial pattern of oil palm land expansion. Therefore, this study employed the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to assess the spatiotemporal effects of staged and continuity indices on the oil palm land expansion in the six villages (Kumpeh, Kumpeh Ulu, Mujaro Sebo, Kota Madya, Jambi Luar, and Mestong) of Jambi Province during 2016-2022. The result revealed that the northern region—especially Mujaro Sebo, Kumpeh, and Kumpeh Ulu villages—contribute most significantly to gradual and continuous oil palm land movement. Staged index had positive influence on increasing oil palm land connectivity. Specifically, economic growth, oil palm agriculture, and medical and health infrastructure were the primary drivers with the positive influence on increasing oil palm land expansion during 2021-2022. Additionally, population flow and commodity land exhibited high connectivity with oil palm land expansion in the northern region, particularly in Kumpeh and Mujaro Sebo villages, collectively leading to 53.79% expansion of oil palm land. Moreover, continuity index reflected a transition from dual core to multi-core development. Oil palm land expansion was predominantly influenced by oil palm agriculture and investment development, though their impacts differed markedly. This empirical study confirms the spatial heterogeneous distribution of land connectivity drivers—represented by barycenter variation—across six villages in Jambi Province, offering essential insights for governmental policy prioritization to mitigate future conflicts arising from oil palm land shifts in the rural areas.
Herdis HERDIANSYAH , Randi MAMOLA . Oil palm land expansion and sustainable agriculture challenges in rural areas of Indonesia[J]. Regional Sustainability, 2026 , 7(3) : 100347 . DOI: 10.1016/j.regsus.2026.100347
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