PALMOILMAGAZINE, ROHUL – CH. Agung Nugroho, Head of the Plantation Agency in the Regency of Rokan Hulu, has expressed full support for independent smallholders seeking to join organizations and obtain ISPO certification. He emphasized that ISPO certification will eventually be mandatory for all planters, including smallholders.
Nugroho noted that the number of smallholders is steadily increasing. He also highlighted that palm oil plantations in remote village areas have significantly contributed to economic progress within local communities.
Therefore, he emphasized the need for a unified platform to ensure sustainable growth for these smallholders in the future.
“Regency of Rokan Hulu fully supports independent smallholders that want to join SPKS to get ISPO certificate,” he said.
The cooperation between the two is realized in official memorandum of understanding (MoU) as the basic to get cooperation in ISPO certification facilitation and other activities that would have something to do with palm oil governance improvement for SPKS members. The goal is also about to escalate their ability and potential, and each resource to support the smallholders to be equal and sustainable optimally.
Some significant points in the MoU are about to escalate institutional capacity and smallholders’ human resources, facilitate ISPO certification activity for SPKS members, support smallholders replanting program acceleration, develop infrastructures and others that both sides agreed with. The MoU would be for the next four years and would be in synergy and sustainably conducted. (T1)
