InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Indonesia has continued its role as a leader in Sustainable Palm Oil (SPO) transformation. This role is carried out through sustainable certification, smallholder financing, forest protection, and the promotion of an inclusive, law-abiding, and biodiversity-conserving RSPO market.
Here are the facts of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)'s success in SPO transformation over more than 20 years globally, including Indonesia, in collaboration with all sustainable palm oil business stakeholders:
Growing Certification and Membership
RSPO membership in Indonesia from January to October 2024 increased by 6%, especially from palm oil plantation companies, including smallholders.
Certified palm oil plantation areas grew by 8.4% in 2023 and an additional 5% through September 2024, with the latest certified area covering 2.7 million hectares. A total of 42 Palm Oil Mills (PKS) and 40 palm oil farmer groups were additionally certified from 2023 through the third quarter of 2024.
The number of certified smallholders surged by 60% in 2023 (year-on-year) to 25,579 independent farmers, with a total certified land area of 58,418 hectares.
Impact on Workers and Smallholders
Plantations and PKS with a total area of 352,311 hectares in Indonesia operate according to the Principles and Criteria (P&C) standards, representing about 60% of the world's total palm oil plantation area.
Since 2013, the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund (RSSF) has funded 67 projects with a total of US$1.59 million, involving 14,149 farmers. Additionally, 14 projects from February 2023 to January 2024 have supported more than 4,500 palm oil farmers.
Production, Consumption, and CSPO Credits
In 2023, the production of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) increased by 7.3% to 9.27 million tons. Domestic consumption grew by 6.9% to 340 thousand tons, with market absorption accounting for 1.6% of the total production.
The total value of certification credits distributed to smallholders from September 2023 to August 2024 reached US$6 million, an increase of 23% (y-o-y), supported by green financing, sustainable certification, and forest conservation.
Conservation and Sustainability
Indonesia has successfully implemented High Conservation Value (HCV) activities covering 160,826 hectares, or 35% of the total global HCV area of 466,608 hectares, through RSPO certification in palm oil plantations. Additionally, 24% of workers in palm oil plantations are women, and 13% of them work in administrative or management positions.
Strategic Stakeholder Cooperation
Strategic cooperation among stakeholders is considered very important, such as the collaboration between RSPO and the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), aimed at supporting the Indonesian government's goal of achieving 1 million sustainable farmers. This new milestone includes a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Jambi involving more than 1,100 farmers, a cooperative program from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, and collective certification in Aceh Province involving 2,500 farmers and East Kalimantan Province with 1,566 farmers.
The SHINE program (REA Kaltim) involves 600 independent farmers in RSPO certification and compliance with EUDR regulations until 2027. Orangutan conservation on the Salat Islands is a collaboration between PT Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS) and the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), established through the Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP) and the smallholder credit scheme. (T2)
