Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society • Vol. 1, Nr. 2 • Winter 2013 64 Employment and Income of Workers on Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations: Food Crisis at the Micro Level HARIATI SINAGA a a. International Center for Development and Decent Work, University of Kassel, German. Email address: sinaga@icdd.uni‐kassel.de Submitted: 30 August 2013; Revised: 25 October 2013; Accepted for publication: 3 December 2013; Published:20 December 2013 Abstract The importance of oil palm sector for Indonesia is inevitable as the country currently serves as the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil. This paper focuses on the situation of workers on Indonesian oil palm plantations. It attempts to investigate whether the remarkable development of the sector is followed by employment opportunities and income generation for workers. This question is posed within the theoretical framework on the link between trade liberalisation and labour rights, particularly in a labour‐ intensive and low‐skilled sector. Based on extensive field research in Riau, this paper confirms that despite the rapid development of the oil palm plantation sector in Indonesia, the situations of workers in the sector remain deplorable, particularly their employment status and income. This also attests that trade liberalisation in the sector adversely affects labour rights. The poor working conditions also have ramifications for food security at the micro level. Keywords: Palm oil; Indonesia, Trade liberalisation; Labour rights; Employment; Income, Food security; Food crisis Introduction Since 2007, Indonesia has been the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), overtaking Malaysia (Richter 2009: 3). This is seen as a significant achievement particularly after the country decided to pursue trade liberalisation and target the export markets. For Indonesia, the oil palm sector is not only an important source for foreign reserves, but is also a main instrument for poverty alleviation and rural economic development (Rist et al. 2010; Susila 2004a). This impressive picture of the Indonesian palm oil sector is, however, blemished by environmental degradation, so‐called land grabbing (Casson 1999; Surambo 2010; Colchester et al. 2006), and a decent work deficit. Many studies have been done on different aspects of the sector, including the working conditions. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussions on this issue, by focusing on the situation of workers on the oil palm plantations, particularly their employment status and income. The paper attempts to investigate whether the remarkable development of the sector is followed by employment opportunities and income generation for workers. Sinaga,Hariati. (2013). Employment and Income of Workers on Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations: Food Crisis at the Micro Level , Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society.1(2): 64‐78 ISSN‐Internet: 2197‐411X / OCLC‐Nr.: 862804632