Achmadi

On the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, there is a province called Jambi, known mainly for its agricultural produce. In the tropical countryside surrounding Jambi City, thousands of farmers eke out a living by growing palm oil, rubber trees, and edible crops, or illegally harvesting cabinet timber from the rainforest.

Small scale farmer Achmadi lives in a small village dependent on the local palm oil industry. His community survives by selling the fruit from their oil palms to the local palm oil factory’s representatives who come to the village with their scales and trucks and pay cash for the produce ‘on the spot’. Achmadi used to grow rubber trees, but with a wife and a small daughter to support, he’s moved on to a more lucrative crop with higher yields. The palm oil has been working out well, and the returns have allowed him to purchase a new plot of land on the other side of the city. It’s still covered in forest, though, so it will need to be cleared before the palm saplings can be planted.

For Achmadi and thousands of farmers like him, there is only one viable way to clear the almost impenetrable rainforest that impedes their work: fire. For generations, the process has been the same: the forest is selectively logged for saleable timber, then cleared as much as possible using saws and axes (and chainsaws, for the wealthier landholders). The farmers must wait until the weather is hot and dry before the burning season can begin. Then, in a ritualised procedure involving the community, the dried-out debris is set alight and incinerated back to the dirt. Unlike some traditional cultivation practices which use fire to positive agricultural effect, this method is intended simply to be as destructive as possible, getting the forest out of the way of the trees.

And with it goes its inhabitants – all the species living in the rainforest are either driven into ever-shrinking pockets of greenery, or are consumed in the flames. Insects, geckos, birds and monkeys are left homeless; in certain areas, endangered animals like orangutans, elephants, tigers, cloud leopards and rhinos are losing their habitat to the world’s rapacious demand for palm oil.

The edible oil from the fruit of the West African oil palm has become a booming crop for Indonesia. In the country’s fecund tropical climate, the trees’ yield is high, and every part of the fruit can be used – from the pulp to the seed kernels. Palm oil is mainly used in a range of food products, soaps, shampoos and cosmetics, and is particularly popular as cooking oil in Indonesia, where fried dishes are a national specialty. It is also exported internationally, increasingly for use as biofuel. Together, Indonesia and Malaysia account for 83% of the global production of palm oil. The Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest importers, and one worldwide fast-food chain fries all its chicken in palm oil. Adding their small contributions to this global industry is the livelihood of many small-time Indonesian farmers.

In an era of increasing environmental awareness, Achmadi can’t ignore the ecological consequences of his methods. Slowly becoming aware of the global impact of his burning, it seems Achmadi has a choice to make: to go on in the same fashion, or to attempt a more sustainable practise. However, heavy equipment to clear the land is too expensive for such small scale farmers. Unless Jambi’s enigmatic leader, Governor Zul, can step in with an alternative suggestion…