Replanting plays a significant role in food security in the land settlement schemes (LSS) blocks. Intercropping of short-lived crops with perennial crops can be used to optimize productivity from a given area, but it may involve competition between the crops. The aim of this work was to determine the time course of resource capture (principally light and water) by oil palm and food crops during the immature phase of a replanted smallholder oil palm block.
Exploitation of the replant area was moderate in terms of canopy area, and appeared to have little or no impact on the light, water and nutrients available to the growing oil palms. The results indicate that intercropping food crops and oil palm in the manner carried out by smallholders in West New Britain is a productive use of the land.