InfoSAWIT, SAMARINDA – East Kalimantan Province concluded to develop palm oil plantation with sustainable principles as part of escalating production while paying attention the supports and environmental conservation. One main challenge is that how to escalate production without ignoring environmental aspects.

The province, as the sixth rank to have the widest palm oil plantations in Indonesia, or about 1,32 million hectares, face the regional, national, and international – scale claim to reduce emission in plantation development.

In a workshop about Penyusunan Standar Operasional Prosedur (SOP) untuk Sertifikasi Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Perusahaan Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit in East Kalimantan, Head of Plantation Agency East Kalimantan, Ahmad Muzakkir told that of 303 big private companies operating in the province, only 100 companies got ISPO certificates in 2023.

Muzakkir told the fact is not the same with the regulation about sustainable palm oil plantation, as in the President’s Regulation Number 44 / 2020 and the Regulation of Minister of Agriculture Number 38 / 2020.

By the workshop, it is hoped that the capacity of the companies to formulate SOP to get ISPO would be escalating and would accelerate ISPO certification process in East Kalimantan. ISPO certificate would deliver acknowledgement not only in the commitment of the companies about sustainable practices but also open market access globally on palm oil products from Indonesia that highly qualified standards of sustainability.

He emphasized ISPO certification process would involve third parties to make sure the companies would obey standards of sustainability in ISPO.

“ISPO certification process would involve third parties to confirm the companies obey sustainable standards and be responsible to what ISPO regulates,” Muzakkir said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of East Kalimantan Plantation Agency, Thursday (21/3/2024). (T2)