PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – According to Pahala Sibuea, the Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Persatuan Organisasi Petani Sawit Indonesia or POPSI), the forthcoming implementation of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification holds immense significance for the entire palm oil industry in Indonesia, spanning both its upstream and downstream sectors. Sibuea believes that ISPO could provide solutions to various challenges faced by the vegetable oil market.
ISPO represents a policy framework designed to promote palm oil cultivation that takes into account social, economic, and environmental considerations. It aims to enhance the governance of palm oil plantations and industries in Indonesia.
Sibuea also highlighted the additional challenges posed by the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on the palm oil sector in Indonesia during an interview with Palmoilmagazine.com on Saturday, September 23, 2023.”
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The facts also showed, ISPO certification does not smoothly run as what it was hoped for since the publication of President Regulation (PR) Number 44 / 2020 and the Regulation of Minister of Agriculture Number 38 / 2020. Many challenges and obstacles are ahead particularly in the implementation. He thought, the stakeholders proposed to substitute ISPO to be the answer of market acceptance about palm oil products from Indonesia. This should deliver answers how much important ISPO would be for the planters.
“The new ISPO would consist of 7 chapters and 31 articles. These would be the legal for planters particularly ISPO committee, ISPO secretariat, and planters (smallholders) in funding. The fund for ISPO secretariat and committee is supported by Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) while planters, besides from PFMA, could get the fund from Expenditure, other sources, such as, profit sharing, which the regulation was published (the Regulation of Minister of Finance Number 91 / 2023) though it is not clearly written (regulated) in ISPO,” he said.
Public consultation by Deputy II Coordinator Ministry in Economy about ISPO PR Draft showed the independency of the draft. It would not be as a change but substitution of PR Number 44 / 2020. ISPO PR covered the upstream and downstream sectors which are the plantation, downstream industries, and bioenergy businesses in palm oil.
He continued, POPSI would welcome the substitution of ISPO PR particularly if it relates to smallholders (planters) from the fund which is used to get cultivation documents, environment agreement, internal control system trainings, development to get ISPO principles and criteria, certification, and or review. But POPSI also urged to put or add articles about socialization fund in the PR.
“The socialization would be very significant to realize the success of a program. What independent smallholders face is that they have no one overlay (to get ISPO in group). That is why it needs to socialize ISPO,” Sibuea said. (T2)
