PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAMBI – In a landmark achievement, a total of 2,266 independent smallholders from three farmer groups in Jambi Province have officially received Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, covering a total land area of 4,171.62 hectares. This dual certification is the first of its kind at this scale and represents a multi-stakeholder effort, successfully tackling long-standing challenges, including land legality, institutional capacity, and access to global sustainability standards.
In November 2022, RSPO together with the Jambi Provincial Government, Yayasan Setara Jambi, and Tebo Regency, Sarolangun Regency, and Tanjung Jabung Barat, established this multi-stakeholder sustainable palm oil certification acceleration programme to unlock global sustainable palm oil markets for smallholders.
Guntur Cahyo Prabowo, Head of Smallholder RSPO, says “This achievement is not merely a handover of certificates, it demonstrates that Indonesian independent smallholders have the capacity and commitment to meet the highest sustainability standards. When government systems, farmer organisations, legal processes, and market actors collaborate, smallholder inclusion and certification can be achieved. RSPO is proud to be part of this journey and remains committed to expanding its positive impact to more independent smallholders across Indonesia,” he said in a statement received by Palmoilmagazine.com on Wednesday (June 3).
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Adopting a dual pathway approach where ISPO is the foundation for national sustainability and RSPO is the international sustainability standard, the synergy between the two standards has enabled independent smallholders to meet domestic market requirements while simultaneously opening access to global export markets that are subject to increasingly stringent regulations.
Sulistio from Koperasi Konsumen Agro Tani Lestari (KKATL), Sarolangun, reflects that “After receiving training and improving the way we manage our farms, we started to see improvements in our production. More importantly, for more than a year now we have been selling our fresh fruit bunches directly to PT. Inti Guna Nabati through our partnership arrangement. The prices we receive are higher compared to farmers who are not part of such partnerships.”
The dual certification model has proven to be more affordable for farmer groups, while helping to overcome the administrative challenges that often serve as an initial barrier to certification.
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Dr. Iim Mucharam, S.P., M.P., Director of Oil Palm Crops, Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia stated “One important lesson from Jambi is that smallholders do not view sustainability standards as competing systems. Smallholders are seeking practical solutions that improve legal compliance, strengthen their organisations, provide market access, and improve livelihoods. Moving forward, we believe there is value in exploring how different sustainability frameworks can become more complementary and mutually reinforcing. If a farmer has already demonstrated compliance with sustainability requirements, then our collective challenge is how to make that achievement more efficient, more accessible, and more rewarding for the farmer.”
The future of sustainable palm oil should not be about creating additional burdens for smallholders, but rather about building pathways that reward those who have demonstrated a commitment to sustainable practices. Through close collaboration between central and regional governments, civil society organisations, Setara Jambi as the implementing partner, and the full support of RSPO and ISPO, this multi-stakeholder partnership model is expected to serve as a reference for other regions across Indonesia in expanding independent smallholders’ access to certification and sustainable palm oil markets. (P3)
