Oil Palm Smallholder Farm Management and Yield Data from Sabah, 2019

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo survey of 40 smallholder oil palm farms (<50 ha) conducted from August to November 2019. The dataset details farm management practices, Fresh Fruit Bunch yields, understorey vegetation, and soil chemical properties like SOC, total N, and total P.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlations between reported Fresh Fruit Bunch yields and specific Best Management Practices adoption.
• Model soil chemical properties (SOC, total N, total P, available P) against management intensity scores or vegetation cover.
• Assess the prevalence of different management practices across the six governance areas surveyed in Sabah.
• Investigate relationships between understorey vegetation data and soil nutrient levels (total P, available P) on mature farms.

Strengths

• Data collected from 40 distinct smallholdings across six governance areas, providing a regional snapshot.
• Includes multiple data modalities: questionnaire responses on practices, reported yields, field-measured vegetation, and lab-analyzed soil chemistry.
• All surveyed farms had mature fruiting trees (>8 years since planting), ensuring data relevance for established production systems.

Limitations

• Limited to a single survey period (2019), providing a cross-sectional view without temporal trends.
• Sample size of 40 farms may limit statistical power for detecting subtle effects or generalizing to all smallholders.
• Geographic scope is restricted to Sabah, Malaysia, and may not represent conditions in other oil palm regions.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Face-to-face questionnaires and field surveys for vegetation and soil sampling.

Time Range

August to November 2019

Freshness

null

Geography

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo