Australia is one of the countries concerned with environmental issues and allocates substantial funds for related programs. One of these programs is sending students to Indonesia, organized by the RUILI Conservation Field Trip through the Colombo Plan scheme.

Students from the University of Tasmania visited Indonesia from June to July 2019. This visit is the 4th program with similar activities as previous programs. By directly visiting palm oil production centers, students should be able to discuss and observe environmental problems in Indonesia.

In collaboration with the European Union delegation to Indonesia, CSSPO surveys oil palm independent smallholders and traders in Simalungun, North Sumatra. The survey aims to verify facts about the Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) desk study with a team of experts, namely Ms. Verina Ingram from Wageningen University and Research, Ms. Catherine McKenzie from NRI, and Mr. Connor Walsh from NRI.

In collaboration with PERHEPI, ISEI, CSSPO, and UISU, the Faculty of Agriculture of USU held a Seemingly Unrelated Regression Training (Applications in the Almost Ideal Demand System Model) on January 24, 2019, at the USU Information System Center Laboratory, with Prof. Hermanto Siregar and Dr. Indra. There were 34 participants from USU, UISU, UMA, UNJA, Samudra Langsa University, UNAND, PPKS, and Bank BRI Syariah present for this training.

Material from Dr. Indra, SSi, MSi

On 7 December 2018, CSSPO collaborated with the International Affairs Office of Universitas Sumatera Utara to hold a public lecture for students from the University of Tasmania, Australia. The lecture discussed Sustainable Palm Oil Industry Management.

Following this, the students visited PT Ukindo to directly observe the implementation of Sustainable Management in the Palm Oil Industry.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Since 2015, palm oil is the largest contributor to the Indonesian foreign exchange reserves (Statistics Indonesia, 2016). Oil palm plantations in Indonesia have vastly developed since the development of state plantations in North Sumatra. Until 1984, large-scale state and private plantations dominated the development of oil palm plantations. However, since 1979, the Indonesian government has started to develop smallholder plantations. Since then, smallholder oil palm plantations have continued to grow and currently account for around 40% of the total oil palm plantations in Indonesia. With such a significant size, smallholders must become an inclusive part of the global supply chain. Currently, the involvement of oil palm smallholders is very minimal.

Various parties have conducted studies on smallholder inclusiveness, including researchers from USU and CIRAD. This seminar is a joint activity between the Consortium Studies on Smallholder Palm Oil (CSSPO), the Faculty of Agriculture of USU, the International Affairs Office of USU, and the TKP3IS PUI of USU, CIRAD, IFI, and Alliance Francoise. This seminar aims to disseminate the results of studies by Dr. Diana Chalil from USU and Dr. Emmanuelle Chenys from CIRAD on smallholder inclusiveness. CSSPO is a consortium of studies on oil palm smallholders from Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), Universitas Jambi (UNJA), Universitas Malikussaleh (UNIMAL), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Prince of Songkla University (PSU). CIRAD is an agricultural research institute in France that focuses on sustainable development of the tropics and the Mediterranean. CSSPO and CIRAD have been working together since 2016 and held a joint conference in Kuching, Sarawak, in July 2018.

Researchers from USU, UNJA, UNIMAL, PPKS, PERHEPI, the North Sumatra Provincial Plantation Service, PTPN3, SMART, GAPKI, Conservation International (CI) NGO, Pusat Pengkajian dan Perlindungan Anak (PKPA), APKASINDO, and SAMADE attended this seminar, totaling to 75 participants. The 3rd Vice-Rector of USU, Drs. Mahyuddin K. M. Nasution, M.I.T. Ph.D., opened this event, followed by remarks by Anne-Lise Mercier of Alliance Francoise. The panel session started with an opening speech by Prof. Alain from CIRAD and Dr. Bayu Krisnamurthi from ISA Initiatives IPB. Following this, Dr. Diana Chalil from CSSPO USU explained the results of a study on the inclusiveness of Indonesian oil palm smallholders from the aspect of ownership, voice, risk, and reward, with a follow-up discussion on the voice of oil palm smallholders in the RSPO Roundtable by Dr. Emmanuelle Cheyns of CIRAD. The discussion was followed by a question-and-answer session to hopefully produce a solution to increase the inclusiveness of smallholders in the global value chain. Finally, the seminar team distributed souvenirs, photos, and lunch to all participants.

Presentation materials can be downloaded at the following link: Inclusive Palm Oil Global Supply

CSSPO Coordinator, Dr. Diana Chalil, was invited as an Invited Speaker at the 2018 International Oil Palm Conference (IOPC2018) “Smoothing the Disequilibria”, an event organized by Pusat Penelitian Kelapa Sawit (PPKS) held from 17 to 19 July 2018.

The palm oil industry is the largest foreign exchange earner in Indonesia. However, there are reports from several parties that the operational activities of oil palm plantation companies have violated various labor regulations. One of the groups reported to have been subjected to these violations is harvesters, a crucial component in the palm oil industry. Currently, several companies are accused of employing child labor and unregistered workers. Child labor is the employment of workers who are under the age of 18 years, while unregistered workers do not have direct employment ties/contracts with the company, causing them to not receive job security, minimum wage, and access to benefits.

Various sources state that one of the causes of this practice is the high workload and targets set by the company, causing harvesters to bring their wife and children to help them complete their work. Sawit Watch stated that harvesters do at least six other types of work apart from harvesting FFB. Oppuk also added that harvesters have a target of 1.2 tons to 2 tons per person per day, which is unlikely to be achieved alone.

Based on these problems, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) collaborated with the Consortium Studies on Smallholder Palm Oil (CSSPO) to conduct a study on “Workload Standards and Work Targets for Oil Palm Harvesters.” The Consortium Coordinator (Diana Chalil) and the Board of Directors of GAR held discussions in Jakarta on 16 July 2018.

In collaboration with Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), the Consortium Studies on Smallholder Palm Oil (CSSPO) held the 2018 CSSPO International Conference, which took place at Imperial Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, from July 9 to 11, 2018. The conference with the theme “Harmonizing Environmental Social and Economic Dimensions: Is It Possible?” is fully supported by the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB).

The Indonesian Consul General in Kuching, Muhammad Abdullah, officially opened the conference. Notable participants included the Head of the Perhepi Head Office, Prof Dr. Hermanto Siregar, and the ILO National Project Coordinator, Yunirwan Gah. The four keynote speakers, Dr. Bayu Krisnamurthi, Member of the Indonesian Advisory Board and Green Fund, Prof. Alain Rival, President Director for South East Asia Island Countries, and the Focal Point for Oil Palm Research – CIRAD from France, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq from the Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Pakistan, and Prof. Dr. Datuk Mad Nasir Shamsudin from the Department of Agribusiness and Bioresource Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia represented four noteworthy countries in the palm oil industry.

In addition, the conference was also attended by the Vice Rector IV for Information, Planning, and Development of USU, Prof. Dr. Ir Bustami Syam, MSME, the Vice-Rector for Cooperation, Communication and Information of UNJA, Prof. Dr. Ir. Zulkifli Alamsyah, MSc, the Vice-Rector for Cooperation of UNIMAL, Jullimursyida, Ph. D and the Director of Basic Agricultural and Food Studies of UPM, Shaufique Fahmi Sidique, Ph.D.

The seminar continued with parallel classes on the results of studies from researchers from USU, UNJA, UNIMAL, UPM, UNAND, UI, ITB, IPB, CIFOR, Federal University, Taraba State University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Jember, Universitas Lampung, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan, Universitas Halu Oleo, Nanyang Technological University, and Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University.

This annual conference aims to be a forum for disseminating the results of various research and collaborations. CSPPO was formed in 2015 with five universities as its members, namely Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Jambi, and Universitas Malikussaleh from Indonesia, Universiti Putra Malaysia from Malaysia and Prince of Songkla University from Thailand. The vision of CSSPO is to produce research that can improve the position of smallholders in the global supply chain, contributing to inclusive and sustainable agriculture.

The conference finished with a field trip to Bako National Park on July 11, 2018. This seminar aims to become an open forum for participants to discuss various alternative businesses and strategies for harmonizing environmental, economic, and social aspects to achieve inclusive and sustainable agriculture.

Source: https://www.usu.ac.id/id/1799-csspo-dan-cirad-gelar-csspo-international-conference-di-sarawak.html

Presentation materials from keynote speakers can be downloaded using the links below.

Dr. Bayu Krisnamurthi (Harmonizing Economic, Social, and Environment Sustainability: Possible and Feasible

Prof. Alain Rival (Certifying Sustainable Palm Oil The European paradox(es))

Prof. Muhammad Ashfaq (Economic And social dimensions of edible oil Demand in Pakistan)

Prof. Mad Nasir Shamsudin  (Agricultural Development and Environment: on Parallel Track or Collision Course?)

On 6 July 2018, CSSPO collaborated with the International Affairs Office of Universitas Sumatera Utara to hold a public lecture for students from the University of Tasmania, Australia. The lesson discussed the sustainable management of the palm oil industry.

Following this, the students conducted a field visit to PT United Kingdom Indonesia Plantation to directly observe the implementation of sustainable management in the palm oil industry.

Forum Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan Indonesia (FoKSBI) is a forum established by the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners in October 2014. FoKSBI was launched to coordinate all sectors and initiatives focused on sustainable palm oil.

MISI

“To create a forum in Indonesia that allows mutual agreement on sustainable and systematic solutions for palm oil production that respects the environment, expands social benefits, and enhances the competitiveness of Indonesia.”

GOALS

1. To create a multi-stakeholder national action plan for sustainable palm oil.
2. To monitor and implement actions that address the root causes limiting the sustainability of the palm oil sector in Indonesia.
3. To influence and align government policies that ensure a strong and coherent legal framework for sustainable palm oil in Indonesia.
4. To build partnerships and coordinate actions that promote sustainable palm oil in Indonesia.

FoKSBI consists of leading experts from all sectors, including business, the government, politics, agriculture, academia, and international development; Consortium Studies on Smallholder Palm Oil (CSSPO) is part of the forum.

To incorporate input from various stakeholders, including the private sector and oil palm companies, the civil sector such as NGOs and environmental associations representing millions of smallholders, and the government, FoKSBI conducts regular meetings for its technical working group. The outcome will form a draft national action plan for sustainable palm oil, which will be finalized and agreed upon in a series of plenary meetings and public consultations.