DURING the last month, Alex Sinaga has lost all appetite for managing his oil palm smallholding. This isn’t because this farmer from the Regency of Tanjungjabung Barat, Jambi, is too lazy to work but rather because the energy and capital he has spent on his holding does not equal the money he is earning. “I’m not even buying fertilizer because I don’t have enough money to cover the cost of my daily meals,” said Alex.

Usually, he pocke