PALMOILMAGAZINE, PALEMBANG – Wilmar has officially launched the Program Sinergi dan Pemberdayaan Petani Kecil (PROSPEK), aimed at supporting around 26,000 smallholders within its supply chain in Indonesia. The program is designed to strengthen sustainable agricultural practices and improve the welfare of these smallholders.
The PROSPEK launch in Palembang was attended by over 130 smallholders, representing Wilmar’s plasma smallholders in South Sumatra. Currently, Wilmar partners with approximately 3,000 plasma smallholders, and PROSPEK builds on a series of previous development initiatives.
Yudi Triadi, Manager of Wilmar’s Smallholder Sustainability Program, explained that PROSPEK will be rolled out in phases and inclusively. The program’s primary focus is on enhancing sustainable practices to ensure the productivity and quality of smallholders’ fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
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“Until now, our plasma’s FFB production reaches more than 20 tons per hectare per year in the average. Through PROSPEK, we would help them to be more productive by implementing sustainable practices,” he said, as in the official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com, Tuesday (24/9/2024).
Besides, PROSPEK would be part of the long term – commitment of Wilmar to implement no deforestation, no peat, and no exploitation policy that has been running since 2013.
Lead Sustainability Global Upstream Wilmar, Edrin Moss emphasized the program would escalate the smallholders’ capacity to understand sustainable agriculture practices. It would prepare them to get Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate that the government regulated. “Most of the independent smallholders do not fully understand the concept of sustainability. We want to approach them with the practices and help them,” he said.
One plasma representative, I Wayan Gede Surya, the Chairman of Koperasi Lembut Indah Sejahtera did welcome the initiative. He thought, PROSPEK should open the smallholders’ access to the knowledge about sustainable practice in environmental, work safety, and production quality aspects.
“We are not too familiar still and it is hoped PROSPEK would help us to know about sustainable palm oil and the program would fully be implemented to deliver real impacts,” he said.
The cooperation in Lempuing Indah, Regency of Ogan Komering Ilir has been the plasma for PT Buluh Cawang Plantaion (BCP), Wilmar Group for about 25 years and this would be the second cycle of palm oil planting. (P2)
