PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – For numerous smallholders, prioritizing sustainable palm oil practices is not their primary concern. Joining organizations, such as unions, has often resulted in traumatic experiences, as some individuals within these unions have engaged in fraudulent activities, leading to financial losses.
Back to Darto, this would be one issue to get certification because one condition to join it, should be having group or establishing union. “The smallholders are difficult to gather or make group for the trauma,” General Secretary of Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS), Mansuetos Darto said in an event that Palmoilmagazine.com attended.
He also said, of 50 smallholders’ organizations that got sustainable palm oil certificate, not many of them got members, at least, only 500 ones. He delivered example SPKS only has 200 to 250 smallholders as the members in every group “The numbers are not reaching 2.000 or 3.000. In fact, there are many smallholders in villages,” he said.
That is why his side would deliver facts, when a program successful ran, the smallholders actively joined, like members of SPKS in Tembusai Barat, Rokan Hulu, Riau. The union had only 105 smallholders within their plantations about 320 hectares but now it gets more to be 260 smallholders.
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“This is from the incentive and benefits from certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) purchase to the smallholders’ group directly that reached Rp 650 million for 105 smallholders. After hearing that, other smallholders want to join. That is why it need to put them from the beginning to be connected with others that got certificate,” he said.
The certification process spends much, for example, in audit process, a union could spend about Rp 150 million namely if the union wants to get surveillance.
RSPO scheme has no specific model of fund. It could happen by getting fund from Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA). SPKS did discuss with Coordination Ministry in Economy. 11 groups of SPKS that got RSPO certificate would continue to get ISPO audit. “We would do it in 9 (nine) months except if there is something specific issue to deal with,” he said. (T2)
