
InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Musim Mas Group, one biggest palm oil integrated industry in the world did sharing session with the theme “Independent Smallholders Empowerment Program for the Future Sustainable Palm Oil” in Jakarta, Wednesday, 24 July 2024.
It was attended by many stakeholders, such as, the government, non-government organizations, academy, private sectors, and smallholders’ association. It was about to deliver chance of collaboration to empower independent smallholders that Musim Mas developed.
General Manager Program and Project Musim Mas Group, Rob Nicholls said that the company has four pillars in its sustainability policy. One of them is about to escalate the lives of smallholders and the people. “Based on the commitment, Musim Mas has managed independent smallholders’ empowerment program that has involved more than 44.000 independent smallholders in six provinces in Indonesia since 2015," Nicholls said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Friday (26/7/2024).
Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer in the world with the plantations laying on about 16,38 million hectares. About 6,77 million hectares or about or 41 percent belonged to the independent smallholders but they still face many challenges, such as, the lack of understanding about good agricultural practices, their plantation production was low in numbers, and minimally got capital access and financial supports.
That is why the company involved them as the future keys in sustainable palm oil industries. The company would do the best to take them heading to sustainable agricultural practices and connect them with financial access and markets in the globe. The program managed two approaches, such as, training for smallholders and training for trainers: smallholders’ hub.
Besides, Musim Mas would also encourage the independent smallholders to establish groups or associations to get the helps from the government’s program and sustainable palm oil certificates. Until now Musim Mas has developed six independent smallholders’ associations in North Sumatera, Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan with the total numbers about 4.714 smallholders.
Chairman of Asosiasi Pekebun Swadaya Kelapa Sawit Pelalawan Siak (APSKS-PS), Joko Prasetyo that attended the program said that ever since the association was launched in 2019, Musim Mas significantly develop it. “Our association now has 818 members; 745 smallholders got Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificates; 380 got Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificates; 448 were developed to get cultivation documents, and 437 were developed to get environmental documents. We now get connection with the markets globally by selling RSPO credit that reached up to Rp 7,7 billion in 2020 - 2022," Prasetyo said.
In the last session, Rob Nicholls said that Musim Mas would like to deliver chance of collaboration. “We realized our new program just reached out few independent smallholders in Indonesia. We would like to invite every stakeholder to the collaboration to support the program and would deliver bigger advantages for the sustainable future palm oil (industries) in Indonesia,” Nicholls said. (T2)