ISPO Training Commences for Independent Smallholders in Pelalawan
Apr 5, 2016
Amanah Association Manager Pak Narno, far left, stands with three of the 500 smallholders within the association set to become the first ISPO certified independent farmers in Indonesia. Photo:Rebecca Lake/Riau/FoKSBI
A cooperative of 500 oil palm farmers from the Sumatran province of Riau are on track to becoming the first independent farmers certified under the government of Indonesia’s sustainable palm oil standard (ISPO) thanks to a multistakeholder training initiative, which began on Tuesday, March 29th 2016.
The training phase of the pilot project — which is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with palm oil company Asian Agri — is expected to take three months to complete and will involve workshops on good agriculture practice and effective plantation management for improving yields. SNV Netherlands Development Organisation will facilitate the training and technical support for the independent farmers.
Once the training is complete, the Amanah cooperative will be independently assessed for its adherence with ISPO’s Principles and Criteria. If the cooperative passes the audit it will receive ISPO certification, becoming the first group of smallholder farmers in the nation to do so.
“We are pleased to work with the UNDP and Asian Agri in our pursuit to expand the ISPO standard to Indonesia’s smallholder farmers. These farmers are the most vulnerable to market demands for sustainable palm oil and require the most support,” said Director of Perennial and Beverages Crops for the Directorate General of Plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dwi Praptomo Sudjatmiko
Today, smallholder farmers are responsible for over 40 percent of the oil palm plantations spread throughout the archipelago. These farmers, on average, manage just 2 hectares of land and they contribute to over a third of the nation’s total palm oil supply. Unlike large multinational companies with unwavering access to capital and resources, smallholder farmers cannot afford the vast investment required to switch to long-term sustainable practices and many are simply unaware of how to productively manage their crop.
The outcome of the smallholder pilot training phase in Pelalawan, Riau, is expected to form a blueprint on how best to scale-up ISPO certification throughout Indonesia’s oil palm producing regions and increase the capacity of the nation’s estimated two million smallholder farmers, many of who struggle to achieve industry average yields.
“This pilot project is a small stepping stone in a much larger effort to achieve sustainable palm oil in Indonesia without cutting small-scale farmers out of the global supply chain. We must build a strong connection between poverty reduction and environment protection and ensure that the poor are included in the vital effort to conserve Indonesia’s enviable biodiversity and ecosystems,” said Christophe Bahuet, UNDP Indonesia Country Director.
“Asian Agri is committed to improving the capacity of independent smallholders, to ensure that sustainable practices directly benefit developing communities. Sustainable plantation practices are now an obligation in the oil palm industry and are expected to go beyond their own supply chains industry players. We hope to identify and reform regulatory barriers through this process so that others in the private sector will follow our lead and partner with the government,” said Freddy Widjaya, Director of Asian Agri.
Results and lessons learned throughout the period of smallholder training and certification, estimated to cost $30,000 USD, will inform the government-led Indonesia Palm Oil Platform (FoKSBI) as it drafts the framework for a National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil set to be finalized and implemented in 2018.
Read More about this Meeting on FoKSBI Website
Contact Information:
Adinda Silitonga
UNDP Sustainable Palm Oil Initiative and FoKSBI Communications Officer
adinda.silitonga@undp.org
