**1. Introduction**

Palm oil, derived from *Elaeis guineensis*, is the world's most traded vegetable oil and 90% of it is used for food consumption while industrial consumption such as cosmetic production or fuel and diesel covers the remaining 10% [1]. Recent years have witnessed a massive expansion of oil palm monocultures in the tropics of Asia, Africa and South America, mainly to the detriment of rainforests, agroforests (timber and jungle rubber), and traditional arable crops [2, 3]. Tens of millions of farm households in the tropical areas continue to adopt the crop to enhance their livelihood [4]. This increasing adoption by smallholder farmers is carried out despite the crop's requirement of an expensive initial investment, managerial skills, and a switch to more capital-intensive farming practices [5]. The cultivated area of

oil palm cultivation has increased greatly exceeding over 16 million hectares in 2017, with the yearly palm oil production increasing from one million tonnes in 1970 to 63 million tonnes by 2016 [6]. This was possibly because the crop is cheap to produce; it is more efficient as less land, fewer pesticides, and less fertilizers are used. For societies, especially in the tropics, having food security as their top priority, palm oil production could be one of the best approaches towards alleviating food insecurity.

The expansion in the production of palm oil has created concerns about the effect of such an activity on local food security and rural livelihoods. It has also produced diverse effects on the growers and the environment. Though some studies suggest that farm households' adoption of the crop contributes to alleviate poverty and improve households' income and living standards [5, 7–10], others have seen the activity as either promoting food security or aggravating the problem of food insecurity in some localities. For instance, [11, 12] have seen oil palm cultivation as an opportunity for fighting against rural poverty and food insecurity in several Southeast Asian countries, including in Indonesia and Malaysia.

However, [13] opined that the impact of oil palm expansion on food security is uncertain. This is possibly because, it is not always clear as to what extent, and under which prevailing circumstances, the production of the crop improves or compromises rural livelihoods and household food security [6, 14]. Some researchers [15] have argued that expansion of oil palm cultivation affects available land for food crop production and as a result food insecurity might be promoted. Others [16] have reasoned that waged employment in industrial crop plantations or smallholder oil palm cultivation can generate employment and income opportunities in rural areas of tropical region. Households can invest the obtained income to purchase food or improve farm productivity thereby increasing the yield of crops.

Available literature indicates that existing studies focused on the impact of oil palm expansion on some environmental and socio-economic issues rather than on food security; only few capture the interaction between oil palm cultivation and household food security. It is important to explore this area in order to understand the nature of the relationships between oil palm expansion in the tropics and household food security from a theoretical perspective and based on some empirical evidences. This paper, therefore, addresses the nexus between oil palm cultivation in the tropics and food security, and proffer solution on how land-use for oil palm can best be carried out to promote food security rather than food insecurity. It also aims to discuss identified several mechanisms through which oil palm production as an industrial crop interacts with the different pillars of food security – food availability, access, stability and utilization.
