PALMOILMAGAZINE, NORTH ACEH– In order to expedite the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification process for smallholders, the palm oil smallholders in North Aceh have initiated meetings to establish an internal control system (ICS).
Abubakar AR, the Chairman of the Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS) District of North Aceh, stated that this effort represents a crucial step for independent smallholders to adopt sustainable palm oil cultivation practices. Their goal is not only to obtain ISPO certification but also to secure certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Abubakar elaborated, “We aim to facilitate the ISPO and RSPO certification process for independent smallholders covering approximately 1,000 hectares. These smallholders are located in four villages: Seureuke and Lubok Pusaka in the Langkahan Subdistrict, Cotgirek in the Cotgirek Subdistrict, and Buket Hagu in the Lhoksukon Subdistrict, all within the North Aceh District.” He shared this information with Palmoilmagazine.com on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
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He also mentioned, the programs in ISPO would be, the first, Koperasi Berkat Bunga Damai in Village of Seureuke, Sub district of Langkahan that lay about 600 hectares; the second, the smallholders’ plantations in Village of Lubuk Pusaka, Sub district of Langkahan about 100 hectares,
The third, Village of Cotgirek, Sub district of Cotgirek about 200 hectares and the last, the plantations in Village of Buket Hagu, Sub district of Lhoksukon about 200 hectares. “The plantations are cultivated by independent smallholders in District of North Aceh,” Abu said.
As the official information to Palmoilmagazine.com, the process to get ISPO and RSPO certification has been the same with what central SPKS and Animal Health, Livestock, and Plantation Agency District of North Aceh agreed with in Jakarta on 31 August 2023.
Some points of the agreement are about to escalate capacity and reinforce the smallholders’ institutions, facilitate ISPO acceleration certification for the members of SPKS North Aceh, and support to get smallholders replanting program acceleration. The agreement was signed by Head of Plantation, Ichsan that represented Animal Health, Livestock, and Plantation Agency District of North Aceh and General Secretary of SPKS, Mansuetus Alsy Hanu that represented central SPKS. (T2)
