THE big attraction of palm oil is undeniable. Businesspeople who initially didn’t have any business in plantations, such as the Medco Group which is in the oil business, is now in the business. From Sumatra to Papua palm oil plantations cover 7.3 million hectares—this makes Indonesia the number-one palm oil producer in the world. Profits seem to flow endlessly.

But obviously it takes a while before there are trees. It starts from a shoot or