PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – The Indonesian Government persistently promotes the expedited issuance of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate to ensure the sustainable cultivation of every palm oil plantation in the country.
As of December 6, 2023, the latest data reveals that 4.09 million hectares of palm oil plantations in Indonesia have obtained the ISPO certificate, corresponding to an annual production of 42.59 million tons of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
Dida Gardera, the Deputy Coordinator Minister in Food and Agribusiness Coordination within the Ministry of Economy, shared that 816 stakeholders and smallholders have been awarded the ISPO certificates.
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Notably, 107 certificates were allocated to smallholders managing 426,183 hectares, while 712 certificates were granted to stakeholders overseeing a total cultivation area of 3.67 million hectares and an annual FFB production of 39.21 million tons.
Despite the positive numbers, Dida acknowledged challenges in the implementation of ISPO, particularly for smallholders. Funding for ISPO certification is limited and currently only covers the initial certification process, presenting difficulties for smallholders who may find it challenging to secure the necessary funds.
Source of fund to get ISPO certificate was the issue. He told fund from Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) does not cover every process needed. Besides, ISPO acceptance in many countries is not optimal still though many increased palm oil products that should be traceable from the upstream (plantations) to downstream sectors (the derivative products, including bioenergy).
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In the national scale meeting of smallholders in Indonesia by the late of 2023 that Palmoilmagazine.com attended, Dida Gardera mentioned that synergy among the governments, stakeholders, and other parties was not optimal yet to realize ISPO implementation. This showed it needs better cooperation among every stakeholder to solve the issues and confirm sustainability in Indonesia’s palm oil plantations.
“With every issue, the government and stakeholders in palm oil sector should keep trying to escalate sustainability, formulate policy that would support ISPO certification acceleration,” Dida said. (T2)
