Co-producing a research agenda for sustainable palm oil
2019
The rise of
palmoil as the world’s most consumed vegetable oil has coincided with exponential growth in
palmoil research activity. Bibliometric analysis of research outputs reveals a distinct imbalance in the type of research being undertaken, notably a disproportionate focus on biofuel and engineering topics. Recognising the expansion of oil
palmagriculture across the tropics and the increasing awareness of environmental, social and economic impacts, we seek to re-orient the existing research agenda towards one that addresses the most fundamental and urgent questions defined by the
palmoil stakeholder community. Following consultation with 659 stakeholders from 38 countries, including
palmoil growers, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and researchers, the highest priority research questions were identified within 13 themes. The resulting 279 questions, including 26 ranked as top priority, reveal a diversity of environmental and
social researchchallenges facing the industry, ranging from the ecological and ecosystem impacts of production, to the livelihoods of plantation workers and
smallholdercommunities. Analysis of the knowledge type produced from these questions underscores a clear need for fundamental science programmes, and studies that involve the consultation of non-academic stakeholders to develop ‘transformative’ solutions to the oil
palmsector. Stakeholders were most aligned in their choice of priority questions across the themes of policy and certification related themes, and differed the most in environmental feedback, technology and
smallholderrelated themes. Our recommendations include improved regional academic leadership and coordination, greater engagement with private and public stakeholders of Africa, and Central and South America, and enhanced collaborative efforts with researchers in the major consuming countries of India and China.
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