InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Musim Mas Group, one biggest integrated palm oil company facilitated Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) credit sale about Rp 20 billion for the independent smallholders. The credit was distributed through RSPO PalmTrace, a platform that connects the sellers and buyers of RSPO palm oil production that is traceable. This is about to create vital bridge between independent smallholders and company partner, to reinforce the bond between sustainable production and smallholders’ empowerment.
The independent smallholders that got the credit are parts of ‘Training for Smallholders’ program in Musim Mas. They successfully qualified RSPO standards closely and got certificate that is enable them to sell palm oil products from Indonesia to many countries. The total RSPO credit sale since 2020 reached Rp 39 billion with the highest sale this year that reached Rp 10,98 billion.
Deputy Director for Transformation, RSPO, Mahatma Windrawan said that it is important to realize sustainability in palm oil production. By closely implementing RSPO principles and criteria, Musim Mas played its key roles to confirm that palm oil products from Indonesia would compete in the globe.
“We do appreciate Musim Mas for implementing independent smallholders’ empowerment with all dedication and they who were development and guided, now implement sustainable agricultural practices,” Windrawan said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Thursday (23/11/2023).
The smallholders that got RSPO certificate keep increasing in numbers. These reflected that palm oil industrial spirit is on the right track to sustainability. By the late of 2022, 15.485 independent smallholders got RSPO certificate where they cultivated about 35.706 hectares or almost one third of the smallholders that Musim Mas developed.
As one integrated palm oil plantation company, sustainability is the central point in Musim Mas’ business strategies. No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy is available not only for the company’s plantations but also for the suppliers and contractors in cooperation with Musim Mas. The company always tries to qualify the highest standards of sustainability particularly RSPO.
Chairman of Asosiasi Pekebun Swadaya Kelapa Sawit District of Labuhanbatu, North Sumatera Province, Syahrianto said that the training program for independent smallholders in Musim Mas delivered better harvest after implementing good agricultural practices. He hoped the program could be expanded to deliver more advantages for more smallholders.
Meanwhile Independent Smallholders Manager, Musim Mas Group, Rudman Simanjuntak said that independent smallholders are the key in sustainable palm oil industries in this country. Their empowerment would be the main priority of the company and by implementing sustainable plantation practices, and getting certificates, Musim Mas believed that palm oil industries in this country would be more competitive in the markets globally. (T2)
