The Wilmar Smallholder Support Colombia 2 is a two-year sustainability training programme targeting 600 smallholders in the northern part of Colombia. Wilmar Europe, together with its partners, Olenex, FrieslandCampina and CI Biocosta, started this training programme in January 2019. This program is the second smallholder programme deployed by Wilmar Europe in Colombia, after WISSCo.

Geographically located on the Atlantic side, many smallholders conglomerate into two covenants; Magdalena and Cesar. With combined strength, the growers supply their fresh fruit bunches to the five mills related to the Biocosta group. The group exists of the mills: Aceites S.A, Palmaceites S.A, Frupalma S.A, Palmagro S.A and Extractora El Roble S.A.S. By engaging with the mills in the Biocosta group and their supply-base, it ensures a significant part of crude palm oil supply for Wilmar and Olenex, complies with the NDPE (No Deforestation, no development on Peatland and no Exploitation of people and communities) policy.

The programme stimulates and helps the local farmer to understand and accept their sustainability challenges. It also supports them in their journey towards the certification standards and compliance. After identifying their challenges and providing them with the necessary technical know-how, the programme gives the smallholder increased awareness about the benefits of sustainable production. It empowers the local smallholder and helps them to improve their quality of life in the process.

The implementation partner is NES Naturaleza (NES), who was also the implementation partner in the WISSH and WISSCo smallholder programmes. That partnership has created a firm foundation to extend the partnership into deploying the new initiative in 2019 and 2020. NES fulfils the role of consultant for Wilmar and manage the implementation as well as the execution of the WISSCo2 programme.

First WISSCo2 Progress Report

With guidance from RSPO, Suhaili, a smallholder farmer from Jambi Province, Indonesia, went beyond simply applying best practices to his palm oil plantation, to initiating a river conservation programme that has benefited other farmers in his village. Learn more about how RSPO Credits inspired Suhaili to lead a river conservation programme in this video.

Certification inspires farmer to help others

When Suhaili, a smallholder farmer in the Jambi Province of Indonesia, was introduced to RSPO in 2014, his expectations about certification were exceeded. In addition to learning best management practices and being able to expand his palm oil plantation, Suhaili developed a river conservation programme, which benefits his plantation and the local village. He explained that he felt proud to not only just be harvesting crops, but also to be helping improve the environment. To learn more about how RSPO Credits inspired Suhaili to lead a river conservation programme in his village, watch the video below.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

BASF, The Estée Lauder Companies, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and Solidaridad partner for Sustainable Palm Project.

∎ Sustainability project in Lampung, Indonesia launched

∎ Program to encompass 1,000 independent Indonesian smallholder farmers 

LAMPUNG, INDONESIA, MAY 23, 2019 – BASF, The Estée Lauder Companies and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are partnering with the civil society organisation Solidaridad to promote sustainable palm oil and palm derivatives production in the district of Waykanan, Lampung, Indonesia.

The project supports independent Indonesian smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods and their sustainable production of palm oil and palm kernel oil. It offers continuous education and technical support on implementing and maintaining sustainable palm oil practices. The project’s target is that a minimum of one-third of the supported smallholder farmers become certified according to the Smallholder Standard of RSPO at the end of three years.

The project partners are collaborating with the Indonesian government to foster a sustainable palm oil production supply chain in Lampung that is free from deforestation and competitive in the global market, while increasing the social and economic benefits for farmers. “Most major European companies have committed to using sustainable palm oil exclusively," said Heske Verburg, Managing Director, Solidaridad Europe. "We are delighted that BASF and The Estée Lauder Companies are reaching beyond just purchasing sustainably, by providing direct support for sustainable palm oil projects. When palm oil is produced sustainably, and in a future-proof manner, it can actually contribute to resolving grave issues for both farmers and the environment.”

“We are thrilled to partner with BASF and Solidaridad on this important initiative to support Indonesian smallholder farmers,” said Greg Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, at The Estée Lauder Companies. “So many livelihoods in this community are inextricably tied to the production and we support ensuring that it is produced sustainably – both for the long-term benefit to the environment and for the long-term benefit to the community itself.”

“Approximately 40 percent of the world palm production comes from smallholder farmers who rely on it for their livelihoods,” said Daniele Piergentili, Vice President, Home and Personal Care at BASF in North America. “The partnership with Estée Lauder, Solidaridad and RSPO enables us to support these farmers and at the same time increase the availability of sustainably produced palm oil.”

"For sustainable production to become mainstream and fully inclusive, the RSPO believes it is imperative to support smallholders through a variety of different approaches, including the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund (RSSF),” said Ashwin Selvaraj, Head of Smallholder Unit in the RSPO Secretariat. “This collaborative project in Lampung is a great opportunity to scale up sustainable practices, protect natural resources and bring more smallholders under certification through RSPO Best Management Practices.”

Like many other oil palm smallholder farmers, Jalal Sayuti had limited farming knowledge and an unstable livelihood. Joining RSPO and being able to sell RSPO credits via his smallholder group - Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati, not only provided a steady income but the chance to dream of higher education for his children.

Selling RSPO Credits changes a smallholder farmer’s life

Before joining RSPO, Jalal Sayuti, a 50-year-old smallholder farmer, had limited knowledge of palm oil production, and his family survived without a steady income. In 2014, Jalal started selling RSPO Credits via his Gapoktan Tanjung Sehati Group , and the impact of these sales, he revealed, has been “incredible”. “We can now sell our FFB directly without relying on middlemen,” he said. Among many other benefits, Jalal is also enthusiastic about the prospect of sending his children to college. To discover more about how RSPO Credits helped Jalal, watch the video below.

Smallholder farmer Sunarno talks about his journey, from using herbicides to adopting best practices in sustainable palm oil cultivation - and eventually, supplementing his income through the sale of RSPO credits, inspiring others to follow the same path.

Sunarno reaps benefits from learning best practices

Forty-five-year-old smallholder farmer Sunarno, or “Narno” as he is better known, was unfamiliar with best practices in sustainable palm oil cultivation and the impacts of herbicides, until he was introduced to RSPO in 2012. Since then, Sunarno says he has increased his knowledge and gained more opportunities, resulting in a more positive impact on the environment. Additionally, through his sales of RSPO Credits, his family’s income and livelihood also improved. To discover more about how RSPO Credits helped Sunarno inspire others through best practices in sustainable palm oil production, watch the video below.

Wilmar Smallholders Support Honduras (WISSH)

The Wilmar Smallholder Support Honduras (WISSH) programme is a partnership between Wilmar Europe and The Industrial Association of Palm Oil Producers in Honduras (AIPAH). This program is supported by Olenex, a Wilmar-ADM joint venture, and Nestle.

WISSH aims to enhance smallholders' technical capacities on best agricultural management practices in order to bring about better environmental outcomes as well as increasing yields and income. The WISSH programme is built upon the principles of Wilmar's No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy. The programme has a cascade structure; its objective is to train supervisors of the mills under AIPAH, who will subsequently train their supplying smallholders.

The WISSH programme was launched early 2016 and officially ends in October 2018. After 3 years of implementation, the programme has successfully completed its objective with 3,300 smallholders trained on multiple sustainability topics over 448 training sessions.

WISSH Final Report

Bagai isi dengan kuku, Malaysia dan minyak sawit memang tak boleh dipisahkan. Tanya je mak korang berapa kali dia recycle minyak masak sebelum tuang yang baru. Bukan untuk memasak je, industri kelapa sawit banyak menyumbang kepada ekonomi negara dan juga pada peladang.

Biasanya peladang akan minta bantuan subsidi daripada badan kerajaan. Tapi macam mana pulak dengan yang mula daripada kosong, tanpa bantuan sesiapa pun? Hah, inilah yang SOSCILI dan kawan kami kat RSPO nak cerita tentang gigihnya peladang ni nak cari rezeki. Buat pengetahuan korang, RSPO adalah badan non-profit yang mempromosikan perladangan kelapa sawit yang juga mesra alam sekitar. Malah bukan je bumi kita terjaga, peladang pun boleh menjimatkan kos!

Ada yang plan nak tanam kelapa sawit! Rujuk laman web RSPO untuk pelbagai panduan.

Jadi saya selaku editor SOSCILI pergilah ke Air Kuning di Perak untuk menemuramah dua peladang kelapa sawit yang mendapat pengiktirafan RSPO, Dongkin A/L Kaway dan Chong Chin Woon. Artikel ni kebanyakannya akan menumpukan kepada anak-anak Encik Dongkin, serta celoteh daripada Encik Chong sebab dia ni memang berpengalaman. Jom tengok video teaser sikit…