PALMOILMAGAZINE, ACEH SINGKIL – Apical, a global vegetable oil company, in collaboration with Yayasan Inisiatif Dagang Hijau (IDH) and leaders from the Regency of Aceh Singkil, celebrated a significant milestone by distributing cultivation documents to 160 independent smallholders.
This event also marked the first honey harvest from Trigona bees at the Danau Paris Regency office in Aceh Singkil.
This achievement is part of the Sustainable Living Village (SLV) initiative, a collaborative effort involving multiple stakeholders to develop a sustainable living model. Sugiantoro, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager at Apical, stated that through the SLV program, the company is committed to promoting sustainable palm oil production.
Also Read: Aceh Singkil’s Vision for Sustainable Palm Oil Landscape 2024–2026
“By having trainings about good agricultural practices for the smallholders, we support them in cultivation document certification,” he said, as in the official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com, Thursday (22/8/2024).
Country Director IDH, Nassat Idris mentioned that the partnership between the public and private sectors would be the key to realize regency vision about production, protection, and inclusivity (PPI compact). “SLV program that IDH and Apical supported, the smallholders successfully develop sustainable living models sustainably in the protection regions,” he said.
The event was also attended by the smallholders from six villages that also celebrated the first honey – Trigona harvest. It was the way to diversify their sources of living and escalate the local welfare.
Assistant 2 in Economy, Regency of Aceh Singkil Secretariat, Faisal S. Pd., representing Regent in duty of Aceh Singkil did appreciate Apical and IDH for their contribution to welfare the people in the regency.
Syafii Rambe, one smallholder of Village of Biskang said that he was helpful for the comprehensive trainings about cultivation, harvest, and marketing in Trigona honey. “The initiative helps our village to escalate the economy,” Syafii said.
SLV program that was launched in February 2023 in Aceh Singkil has the goal not only to escalate the livings and protect the forest but also encourage transformation in supply chain, support collaboration through production agreement through PPI compact. The initiative was adopted to fulfill the local needs by developing the capacity and empowering the people by having partnership with some organizations, such as, Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL) and Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL).
It means, the same efforts would reinforce not only the economy locally but also maintain environmental conservation in the Regency of Aceh Singkil. (P2)
