An initiative by BASF, Estée Lauder, Solidaridad and The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has made progress in strengthening the sustainable palm oil supply chain and supporting smallholder farmers in Indonesia.
Project Lampung has seen 313 farmers in Way Kanan, Lampung Province receive official RSPO certification, marking the first certified smallholder group in the regency.
In addition, the initiative has provided technical education and training to 1,003 independent palm oil smallholders.
“We have achieved one of the primary objectives of Project Lampung, to have nearly one-third of the supported smallholder farmers achieve certification according to the Smallholder Standard of RSPO within three years,” said BASF Care Chemicals senior vice-president Marcelo Lu.
“The dedication and commitment of our project partners, in collaboration with the Indonesian government, have been instrumental in fostering a sustainable palm oil production supply chain in Lampung,” he added.
Project Lampung is the first in Way Kanan aimed at enhancing the capacity of palm oil smallholders.
Before the intervention, the smallholders had limited exposure to sustainable palm oil production practices and the cooperative did not have a strategic focus on supporting smallholders.
Through a programme of continuous education, these independent palm oil farmers have improved their knowledge on sustainable production, including an awareness about the importance of planting certified seedlings.
The project ensured access to certified seedlings in order to support these farmers in improving productivity.
“This project has proven to be pivotal in sparking sustainable production of palm oil in the Way Kanan district. At the heart of this project are the small palm oil farmers themselves. It is only they who can transform the palm oil supply chain and we were happy to assist them with the technical support and knowledge needed to adopt climate smart production practices,” said Solidaridad Indonesia country manager Yeni Fitriyanti.
“Apart from the benefit of increased sustainable palm oil production, small farmers in Way Kanan are now able to advocate for their own interests in the supply chain.”
