InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA -.One by one, smallholders start implementing sustainable palm oil practices through ISPO scheme. Though it was difficult in the first place, the support and development from regional government, plantation companies, they were able to qualify every process, starting from pre-audit, audit, and finally they were declared to pass and got ISPO certificate.
In the early days of 2023, some smallholders got ISPO certificate, for instance, from Sub district of Muara Wahau, District of Kutai Timur, East Kalimantan Province, there were five cooperation got it, Koperasi Produsen Perkebunan Persada Engkersik Lestari with independent smallholders in Villager of Engkersik, Sub district of Sekadau, Wet Kalimantan Province and some others did too.
The cooperation would be the description that smallholders are always encouraged to immediately implement ISPO certification. Unfortunately, many smallholders’ cooperation, institutions do not get it still. Compared to palm oil plantation ownership in Indonesia, the smallholders have had 41 of the total plantations in Indonesia that laid 16,38 million hectares.
Quoting from the official page of Forum Petani Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan Indonesia (Fortasbi) as the institution that develops smallholders having ISPO and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificates, smallholders that got sustainable certificates are only in seven provinces, they are, North Sumatera, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan. Total smallholders that got it reached about 15 thousand in 51 groups with the total palm oil plantations that laid about 33 thousand hectares or only 0,2% only.
It is beyond expectation knowing that the smallholders’ palm oil plantations laid about 6,5 million hectares. Of course, this would be the big work for the governments, both the central and regional ones to escalate ISPO scheme. The President’s Regulation Number 44 / 2020 about ISPO Certification System mandates that the smallholders are obliged to implement sustainable practices according to ISPO principles and criteria in 2025 or it is only 2 years to go.
Secretary of ISPO Commission, Herdradjat Natawidjaja said that to accelerate ISPO implementation for smallholders, terms and conditions in ISPO get simplified. There are only four conditions, such as, the first, Cultivation Documents; the second, evidence (document) of land ownership; the third, documents of internal control system (ICS); and the fourth, statement of environment control.
Though the terms and conditions get simplified, the fact showed that everything was not simple. The other issue for the smallholders to consider is that the costs to get certification. Herdrajat told, the government provides fund to get ISPO process through infrastructure program and smallholders could propose to related agencies in districts/cities.
“When a cooperation proposed it, it should be for agency in district. Learn the condition and get fund to get ISPO certification process,” he said. (*)
for more, please read Majalah InfoSAWIT, August 2023
