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Productivity is an essential factor in ensuring optimal output. In the oil palm industry, labour productivity is vital in ensuring that oil palm production reaches its target/production. Sarawak, a significant contributor to the oil palm industry in Malaysia, faces a severe labour shortage. The layoffs of foreign labour due to the Covid 19 pandemics made the labour issue in Sarawak even worse. The involvement of local labour is expected to resolve the decrease in foreign labour. However, local people have minimal interest in getting involved in the oil palm agriculture sector. This study aims to examine the involvement of local labour in oil palm and strategies to increase local labour productivity. This study uses quantitative methods and purposive sampling in data collection. A total of 56 oil palm smallholders (PKS) who have local labour were selected. The results showed the type of local labour are family members, relatives, and village labour. They are paid on a contract basis and according to the number of oil palm trees. In terms of strategies to increase labour productivity, employing skilled workers, good agricultural practices, adequate capital, skills in managing pests and crop diseases, job specialization, group work, and rewards are among the recommendations put forward by PKS. If this problem still occurs, it will affect the entire oil palm industry, especially in Sarawak, as the state is one of its most significant contributors to oil palm. If the local and federal governments cannot resolve labour shortage issue in the oil palm industry, it will affect Malaysia's entire oil palm industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deadly virus COVID-19 has affected not only the health of people but also the food value chain sector. The experience of the locked down period to curtail the spread of the virus was unexpected. It is therefore important to understand how small-scale farmers survived the period. This study examined the strategies employed by small-scale farmers in Osun State to adapt to the challenges resulting from COVID-19 lock down. Specifically, the study itemized types of crops grown by small-scale farmers, assessed the forms of challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, examined the perceived effects of these challenges on small-scale farming activities, and investigated the adaptation strategies employed by small-scale farmers during this time. Six communities in the local government were selected at random and a total of one hundred and twenty farmers from the communities were interviewed. A questionnaire was designed to collect the primary data. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square tools. Results showed that COVID-19 lock down period led to poor health status (mean=2.87), less transport available to convey farm produce (mean=2.70), and high cost with little/no access to farm inputs such as fertilizer, chemicals and seeds/seedlings (mean=2.62). The foremost effects of these challenges on small scale farming activities were poor marketing of agricultural produce (mean=4.52), decrease in farmers’ income (mean=4.51), and labour shortage (mean=4.39). The leading adaptation strategies employed by the farmers were planting of available grains instead of seeds (mean=2.85), reduced food consumption (mean=2.83), and the use of family labour (mean=2.80). The regression analysis showed that education (β=0.151), marital status (β =1.173), non-farm income (β=-6.790), and years of experience (β=-0.032) were significant (at p