- A resolution issued by Peru’s Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) aims to boost the sustainable development of palm oil production in the country.
- Critics argue that it will lead to increased deforestation and that Indigenous organizations were excluded from the regulation’s drafting process.
- Oil palm is cultivated to obtain palm oil, which is used as a raw material in beauty products, toiletries, food and biodiesel.
- The regulation adds to at least two other recent measures by the Peruvian government with potential environmental impacts.
Oil palm is a crop whose derivatives have multiple uses, resulting in staggering global demand. Because of this, Peru’s Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI in Spanish) has developed a new regulation to boost oil palm production. On March 22, 2025, MIDAGRI published a ministerial resolution titled Policy Framework for the Sustainable Development of Oil Palm in Peru (2025–2034).
This document and its annex propose, among other things, expanding the agricultural frontier and increasing oil palm production, as well as improving competitiveness in the oil palm supply chain with a focus on sustainability. The projected expansion of oil palm cultivation outlined in the regulation would occur in the Amazon, which, according to the document, offers the optimal agro-climatic conditions for oil palm development.
In Peru, oil palm production has not been free from controversy, mainly because its expansion has often come at the expense of deforestation and has created conflict with Indigenous communities due to cases of irregular land appropriation. Oil palm is cultivated to obtain palm oil, which is used as a raw material in beauty products, toiletries, food and biodiesel.
According to MIDAGRI, the area currently cultivated with oil palm in Peru totals around 95,000 hectares (234,750 acres). Although the resolution does not specify how many hectares should be added nationwide, it does note that in the region of Ucayali, the regional oil palm development plan has identified “267,641 hectares (661,355 acres) with potential for oil palm production, mainly along the Federico Basadre Highway.”
“There are no more areas”
“It’s a set of regulations developed by the Ministry of Agriculture. First, it amended the Forestry Law to legalize all deforestation in the past 20 years. Second, there’s the promotion of oil palm, along with the Deforestation-Free Certificate approved last year which encouraged forest fires,” says Lucila Pautrat, director of the NGO Kené.
The amendment to the Forestry Law referred to by Pautrat was enacted in January 2024 amid criticism from various sectors that promote environmental protection. Some experts say that the law legalizes illegal deforestation.
Regarding the Deforestation-Free Certificate, this refers to a resolution approved by MIDAGRI in September 2024, which was revoked just a few days after its approval, following a complaint filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the minister for agrarian development and irrigation, Ángel Manero, for authorizing the resolution.
Regarding the oil palm regulation, Pautrat states that the goal is to “expand the agricultural frontier by about 500,000 hectares (1,235,526 acres).” She also notes that “for every hectare cleared for oil palm plantations, an additional four are cleared for roads, infrastructure, camps and processing plants.”
According to the resolution, the new lands designated for oil palm cultivation will be in deforested and degraded areas. However, Pautrat argues that there is no official registry of degraded or deforested areas, and, as a result, “people continue clearing forests,” she says, adding that “they should have declared these forested areas protected instead. But they’ve done the opposite. By saying ‘we’re going to use degraded areas,’ they actually triggered more deforestation because more people started clearing even more forested land,” she explains.
David Germany, former president of the San Martín Regional Federation of Oil Palm Producers (FREDEPALMA), questions the possibility of expanding oil palm plantations in that region. “I don’t think it’s possible because we would be going against the environment. There are no available areas, especially in Tocache — there just aren’t any. They would have to deforest to create new areas.”
For Germany, what should be done is to create added value from what already exists, “to vertically scale and add value to the fruit by installing a processing plant.” He also mentions that the only way to increase the number of hectares for oil palm cultivation, at least in San Martín, would be by changing existing crops, that is, to convert fields currently used for coffee, cacao or livestock into oil palm plantations.
More oil palm crops
“[The National Oil Palm Board of Peru] has handled this in a way that excludes small-scale farmers because it’s been taken over by industrial producers,” Germany says, criticizing the role of the National Oil Palm Board of Peru (JUNPALMA in Spanish) in the drafting of the regulation.
According to MIDAGRI, the regulation was developed in coordination with JUNPALMA and the Coalition for Sustainable Production (which is made up of five organizations), as well as through workshops and meetings with oil palm industry experts.
“We’re small-scale farmers and they’re industrial producers. They look out for their profits, their income, their business, but nothing reaches us,” adds Germany, who also claims that FREDEPALMA was not informed about the agreements made in the drafting of this regulation.
Germany points out that FREDEPALMA brings together around 200 members who together have around 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) of oil palm plantations.
Mongabay Latam contacted JUNPALMA to get their perspective on the matter, but they responded that “due to previously scheduled commitments and internet connectivity issues, it is not possible to respond to your request,” adding, “We are currently visiting our agricultural bases in remote regions, which limits our availability for interviews.” Efforts were also made to reach out to the Coalition for Sustainable Production, but no response was received by the time of publication.
One person who did respond to our request was Amilcar Armas, FREDEPALMA San Martín’s representative to JUNPALMA. Armas stated that the regulation aims to raise producers’ incomes, which requires increasing productivity.
“We are working toward certification, and that means we must adopt good agricultural practices that are environmentally friendly in order to achieve deforestation-free oil palm.”
Regarding the expansion of the agricultural frontier, Armas explained that land-use zoning has been carried out in San Martín, and areas suitable for agriculture have been identified. He added that land currently used for less profitable crops has also been considered as areas where agricultural conversion to oil palm could take place.
As for plans related to oil palm plantations in the Ucayali region, Mongabay Latam requested an interview with the regional government but received no response. Ucayali is one of the regions that has experienced land conflicts over oil palm cultivation for several years.
In 2012, a company owned by Czech-American businessman Denis Melka acquired land in the Amazon forests of Ucayali, clearing approximately 13,000 hectares (32,123 acres). At the time, complaints emerged over the environmental damage caused in the Amazon, as well as over conflicts with the Indigenous Shipibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya.
In a statement published on its website, the company reported that “the Preliminary Criminal Court of Ucayali permanently closed the case against the oil palm company Ocho Sur, which had been accused of illegally occupying land belonging to the Indigenous community of Santa Clara de Uchunya.”
Without Indigenous participation
Julia Urrunaga, director of the Environmental Investigation Agency in Peru, criticizes the fact that the working group responsible for drafting this regulation excluded Indigenous organizations and only involved those directly involved in oil palm cultivation. “How can you create a working group to design an oil palm strategy in the Amazon without any Indigenous organizations present? That’s already a major red flag.”
Urrunaga recalls that years ago a National Plan for the Sustainable Development of Oil Palm in Peru (2016–25) was drafted, but ultimately was not approved as the Ucayali Regional Organization of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (ORAU in Spanish) filed a legal challenge with the regional government to require that the plan undergo a prior consultation process, which never materialized.
The resolution, now approved by MADAGRI, states that ORAU opposed this regulation and that the National Center for Strategic Planning (CEPLAN in Spanish) “implemented a series of measures that restrict thematic plans.”
Besides the fact that Indigenous peoples were not consulted during the drafting of the regulation, Urrunaga also criticizes the Ministry of the Environment for not issuing an opinion. She also points out that a policy and strategy for sustainable oil palm have been defined, although at no point are the characteristics of that sustainability explained.
Mongabay Latam contacted MIDAGRI for clarification on the details and scope of the regulation but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Banner image: There are approximately 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of oil palm plantations in Peru. Image by Thomas Muller.
This article was originally published here on Mongabay’s Spanish news site, Mongabay Latam.
Community-based biofuels offer ‘sensible’ alternative to palm oil for Indonesia, analysis shows
FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.
Credits
