InfoSAWIT, SIAK – Wilmar has conducted concrete things by developing independent smallholders in Regency of Siak, Riau Province so that they would get Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate. This is part of jurisdiction approach in the regency by involving five palm oil unions. Through multi-stakeholder collaboration that Regency of Siak initiated, Wilmar hoped to help the independent smallholders to escalate their ability to realize sustainability.
Head Sustainability Wilmar Indonesia, Pujuh Kurniawan told that his institution hs been developing 1.500 independent smallholders that cultivate about 2.500 hectares (ha). They are from five unions. From the numbers, two of them have got ISPO certificate since 2019. By the early of this year, two others are in progress to accomplish certification process and one union is preparing it still. “The program is in cooperation with PT Permodalan Siak (PERSI), plantation agency and other related agencies,” Pujuh said in a Workshop Sinergi Siak Hijau: Kolaborasi Stakeholder to support sustainable palm oil plantation in Siak Green Landscape, last week.
Besides in Siak, Wilmar did conduct independent smallholders’ empowerment in other provinces, such as, Jambi, North Sumatera, and West Kalimantan. The company has cooperated and developed 14 independent smallholders’ groups with the total ones about 5.760 men and their plantations about 12.584 ha. Until now they have got ISPO certificate that covered 8.588 ha from 3.525 ones.
The professor in Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Sudarsono Soedomo said that the collaboration in Siak Hijau should be the model of sustainable palm oil plantations in Indonesia. He told it is important to get sustainable certification for smallholders because of the market demands in the globe on environmental products that get more increasing.
Chairman of Forum Pengembangan Perkebunan Stategis Berkelanjutan (FP2SB) Rismansyah Danasaputra thought, the smallholders contributed about 40 percent from fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production in national scale. They have limits to get certificate. Every party should notice it to help them and escalate their capability.
Palm oil plantations play important roles in the economy in Siak that lays on about 328,8 thousand hectares, the smallholders cultivated about 208.075 hectares. The same efforts among the regency, companies, and smallholders would be the successful key to maintain this sustainable sector in the future. (T2)
