Abstract
If the long-term economic fundamentals behind tropical agricultural production generally favor small-scale family-run farms, why have oil palms in Southeast Asia been dominated by large-scale farming arrangements since their introduction? This article explores various reasons for the anomaly through evidence drawn largely from recently unearthed archival material in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia’s southernmost state. Historians have usually stressed post–harvest coordination challenges stemming from a combination of quality requirements, processing cost economies, and crop-specific time sensitivity. On balance, evidence suggests that crop coordination challenges were the chief obstacle to Malayan smallholder involvement in oil palms before the 1950s. Unlike for estates, however, coordination problems for smallholders were more likely underwritten by the draw of competing crops, labor demands, and subsistence cultures. Given these challenges, local dealer participation was critical to fostering workable smallholder oil palm initiatives.
