*2.1.1 Access to high quality planting materials*

High quality oil palm planting materials coupled with best management application could significantly and immensely increase the yield and incomes of smallholder farmers and commercial plantations. The switch to *tenera* planting materials increased oil yield about 30% over the *dura* materials which were then planted due to the thicker mesocarp [38]. The advent of biotechnology tools such as the tissue culture have also led to the production of clonal palm. Planting clonal palm as against commercial D x P at the same time and under the same area has also increased yields by approximately 25% over the *tenera* materials [39]. However, clonal palms are limited to few industries and countries but commercial D x P are available in most oil palm growing countries. Unfortunately, many smallholder farmers especially do not plant *tenera* materials and thus have hampered productivity significantly. At plantations and institutional levels, admixture and other human errors such as unintentional use of pollen from a non *pisifera* palms, self-pollination of *dura* parental palms, open pollination of *dura* parental palms by surrounding *dura* palms and imprecise selection of seed or seedlings [40] have contributed to contaminations. Ooi et al. [41] reported an average non *tenera* contamination of 10.7% in independent planting sites surrounding the MPOB's 6 research stations located in Peninsular, Malaysia. While 9.2% were contaminations from *dura*, 1.5% was from *pisifera* contamination. The unintentional planting of *dura* or *pisifera* oil palm seedlings reduces the overall yield and impacts land utilization that would otherwise devoted to more productive *tenera* palms.

In Ghana, [42] reported about 70% *dura* and *pisifera* contamination, comprising of 69.54% *dura* and 0.69% *pisifera* after surveying 97 smallholder farms which were planted on mined lands in three Districts of Central region with the seedlings supplied to the smallholder farmers by a Contracted nursery operator. It is believed that the seedlings supplied to the farmers were uncertified.

The advent of molecular markers have enabled marker assisted selection (MAS). Deployment of these tools could be used as a certification procedure with proper enforcement in place such that germinated seed nuts (at the seed production unit) as well as seedlings (at the nursery stage) to be planted are checked and those that are *tenera* planted. This will assist in bridging the gap between potential and actual yield.

## *2.1.2 Strict adherence to best management practices*

Best management practices (BMP) are cost effective and practical agronomic techniques that focus on reducing yield gaps in oil palm by using production inputs and resources efficiently [43]. The aim of BMP's in oil palm is to increase the productivity of oil palm through improvements in agronomic practices and increased crop recovery. The application of BMP's are site specific because they are structured to address a specific production constraints and biophysiological conditions of individual locations [44]. BMP's can be 'yield taking' and 'yield making' practices [45]. The 'yield taking' increases yield in the short term by improving crop recovery operations with activities including regular harvesting within an interval of 7–10 days, bunches harvested should have a maximum of 5 'loose fruits' on the ground, access roads should be created within the plantations (harvesting paths, foot bridges to help cross drains, ring weeding (about 5 feet) around the palms to allow unhindered access to harvesting and collection of loose fruits and fruit bunches, pruning of dead, diseased and unproductive fronds for air circulation and quick identification of ripe fruits, quick transportation of harvested fruits to the mill within 24 hours after harvesting to help reduce fatty acids in the crude palm oil produced.

The 'yield making' practices also include but not limited to replanting of dead palms as well as removal of non-*tenera* palms to ensure there is optimum planting density (148 palms/ha) with the hope of minimizing excessive inter-palm competition for sunlight and nutrients, construction of drains especially in lowland areas to aid drainage during the wet season and ensure the availability of water during the dry season.

In addition, intercropped plants that are closer to the palm should also be exterminated to avoid intense competition for sunlight, nutrients and moisture. Ideally, plants used as intercrops should be planted about 3 m from the oil palm tree. Regular integrated weed control measures (3 times in a year), planting of cover crops such as *Peuraria phaseoloides* to reduce soil erosion, improve soil tilth, increase soil biological activity and fix nitrogen into the soils. Finally, BMP's should include fertilizer application using crop residues such as empty fruit bunch and pruned frond as well as inorganic fertilizers. Although fertilizer application in oil palm contributes about 30% of the cost of production in oil palm [46] its dividend is great. However, fertilizer application should be preceded by soil nutrient analysis to help decipher the sufficiencies and deficiencies to know the sources of nutrients to be used, the right amount to be applied, the right time and right place to be applied. Globally, the recommended fertilizer application is 260 kg N, 50 kg Phosphorus and 220 kg Potassium ha/yr. although reduced fertilizers at a rate of 136 kg N, 17 kg Phosphorus and 187 kg Potassium ha/yr. may be used [47] for adult palms. In Africa specifically Ghana, a general recommendation of fertilizer for application in matured palm (beyond 5 years) is 6 kg/palm of NKP 10:10:30 in addition to magnesium and boron. Notwithstanding, there is the need to establish multifactorial, multi locational nutrient response trials across different agro-ecological zones in areas where fertilizer will be applied to guide future recommendations for current materials and new materials been bred for optimum yield and productivity.

#### *2.1.3 A switch from conventional agriculture to precision agriculture*

Fertilizer application, harvesting, transportation of gathered fresh fruits bunches and loose fruits, weed control, and sanitary control are all potential sources of high production costs. Within the framework of ecologically sustainable development, these processes can be optimized and competitiveness increased.

#### *Sustainability of the Oil Palm Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100156*

Precision agriculture is a modern production management system in which new technologies are used to collect, analyze, and manage data in a sustainable manner [48]. Agriculture field machinery such as automated steering systems, data-driven targeted application of fertilizers and pesticides, field robots and drones, soil analysis sensors, and autonomous driving are all part of precision agriculture.

Precision agriculture is based on climatic, edaphic, and agronomic factors that influence yield, and its implementation can improve product quality, yield per unit area, production cost, and environmental impact. Precision agriculture works under three perspectives: agronomic (fertilization and irrigation, ensuring that optimum levels of rainfall and plant nutrients are applied to the palms), environmental (precise fertilization applied such that lower quantities are emitted into the atmosphere, fertilization above the economically optimum levels may lead to detrimental environmental effects such as GHG emissions, nutrient leaching losses, soil acidification, ground water pollutions [49, 50] and finally under economic perspective (increase in the production per unit area, the reduction of inputs or increase in efficiency).

On the basis of spatial and temporal variability, information about different types of soil properties, rainfall patterns, and availability of water courses such as dams, rivers, and streams, as well as the productivity of oil palm within a particular plot, can be electronically retrieved from field record files in real time. With this background knowledge, satellite-controlled precise agricultural machinery and intelligent sensors can be used for targeted seed planting, fertilizer and pesticide application, irrigation, and other agricultural tasks.

### *2.1.4 Support for smallholder farmers*

The RSPO defines smallholders as farmers who grow oil palm with other subsistence crops, where the family contributes the majority of labor and the farm is the primary source of income, and where the planted area of oil palm is less than 50 hectares. However, the Ghanaian interpretation of the RSPO's P & C uses a 40-hectare barrier to designate smallholders, whereas most smallholders produce on plots of less than 10 ha, sometimes in conjunction with other crops.

Smallholders are divided into two groups: those who are assisted and those who are self-sufficient. Supported smallholders have a contractual commitment to sell their FFB to a mill or corporation in exchange for help, but independent smallholders have no contractual duty to sell their FFB or CPO to a mill or buyer [51]. As a result, independent smallholders are responsible for the growth, management, harvesting, and transportation of their FFB to milling centers. Smallholder farmers face major challenges around the world, including access to funds, land tenure issues, agricultural input access, a lack of extension services and supervision support, market access, low bargaining power, opaque pricing mechanisms, and insufficient or lack of capacity to implement certification requirements [51].

Smallholder farmers' yields have been reduced as a result of the aforementioned restraints. Furthermore, many smallholders have been denied certification by the RSPO because they do not meet the RSPO Principles and Criteria. The empowerment of smallholders is required to remedy these deficiencies. These goals could be reached by bolstering current small-holder mechanisms to improve access to financing, productivity, milling efficiency, sustainability, and market access. It would also be ideal if independent smallholders were encouraged to enter into contractual agreements with companies to gain access to improved seedlings, agricultural inputs, and technical extension services who would oversee most farm activities such as fertilizer application, record keeping, lining and pegging, pruning, and other activities to help increase oil palm productivity and increase the

income of the smallholder. This is recommended since, in some oil-producing areas, neither the government nor civil society organizations have a mechanism in place to assist small-scale farmers.
