PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Musim Mas Group, one of the world’s largest integrated palm oil industries, held a sharing session on July 24, 2024, in Jakarta. The event, themed “Independent Smallholders Empowerment Program for the Future of Sustainable Palm Oil,” was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders, including government representatives, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private sector players, and smallholders’ associations.
The session aimed to explore collaborative opportunities to support and empower independent smallholders through Musim Mas’s initiatives. Rob Nicholls, General Manager of Programs and Projects at Musim Mas Group, highlighted that the company’s sustainability policy is built on four pillars, one of which focuses on improving the livelihoods of smallholders and local communities.
“Based on the commitment, Musim Mas has managed independent smallholders’ empowerment program that has involved more than 44.000 independent smallholders in six provinces in Indonesia since 2015,” Nicholls said, as in the official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com, Friday (26/7/2024).
Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer in the world with the plantations laying on about 16,38 million hectares. About 6,77 million hectares or about or 41 percent belonged to the independent smallholders but they still face many challenges, such as, the lack of understanding about good agricultural practices, their plantation production was low in numbers, and minimally got capital access and financial supports.
That is why the company involved them as the future keys in sustainable palm oil industries. The company would do the best to take them heading to sustainable agricultural practices and connect them with financial access and markets in the globe. The program managed two approaches, such as, training for smallholders and training for trainers: smallholders’ hub.
Besides, Musim Mas would also encourage the independent smallholders to establish groups or associations to get the helps from the government’s program and sustainable palm oil certificates. Until now Musim Mas has developed six independent smallholders’ associations in North Sumatera, Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan with the total numbers about 4.714 smallholders.
Also Read: Musim Mas Group Sustains Empowerment Program and Capacity Building for Women Palm Oil Smallholders
Chairman of Asosiasi Pekebun Swadaya Kelapa Sawit Pelalawan Siak (APSKS-PS), Joko Prasetyo that attended the program said that ever since the association was launched in 2019, Musim Mas significantly develop it. “Our association now has 818 members; 745 smallholders got Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificates; 380 got Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificates; 448 were developed to get cultivation documents, and 437 were developed to get environmental documents. We now get connection with the markets globally by selling RSPO credit that reached up to Rp 7,7 billion in 2020 – 2022,” Prasetyo said.
In the last session, Rob Nicholls said that Musim Mas would like to deliver chance of collaboration. “We realized our new program just reached out few independent smallholders in Indonesia. We would like to invite every stakeholder to the collaboration to support the program and would deliver bigger advantages for the sustainable future palm oil (industries) in Indonesia,” Nicholls said. (P2)
