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Independent Smallholders Behaviour towards Complying with Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification

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The mandatory implementation of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) requires the participation of all oil palm producers including the smallholders. The implementation of MSPO serves as one of the avenues to address the sustainability issues related to the development of the palm oil industry. The purpose of this study is to examine factors that influence the smallholders’ behaviour in complying with the mandatory MSPO implementation. A questionnaire was employed to measure the smallholders’ behaviours. The respondents were 404 oil palm independent smallholders in the state of Johor Darul Takzim. Correlation analysis was performed to test the relationship between variables. Using Theory of Planned Behaviour as the basic theory for the study, the findings revealed that attitude, subjective norms, perceived control behaviour and intention have a significant and positive relationship with MSPO compliance behaviour. Based on the study, there is a need to improve the smallholders’ attitude and perceived behavioural control to sustain smallholders’ behaviours to comply with the MSPO requirements.
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