Fig. 1

Oil palm area expansion (extensification) in Cameroon. a Oil palm production (green) and area harvested (orange) since 1985 for the country of Cameroon, with the time-period considered in this study (2000–2015) highlighted in gray6. b On-farm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield in Cameroon since 1985. For comparison, the horizontal dotted line represents the FFB yield in Indonesia54. Note: yield values from FAOSTAT6 reported in b should be viewed with caution, as it is difficult to obtain quality data on yield, especially from smallholder farmers. FAOSTAT yield values are much higher than yields observed in the field30,35