CSSPO Coordinator Diana Chalil held a Scientific Meeting with the Resident Regional Director for Insular South-East Asia, Prof Alain Rival, on January 30, 2018, at the CIRAD Office in Graha Kapital 1 Jalan Kemang Raya No. 4 Jakarta.

The results are as follows:

1. In collaboration with CIRAD, CSSPO will hold its annual conference in Sarawak from 9 to 11 July 2018. Prof. Alain Rival will be one of the keynote speakers.
2. CIRAD is part of the VCA4D (Value Chain Analysis for Development) project within the Agrinatura Consortium, which has been implemented in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Currently, a 10-year work plan for sustainable palm oil is being formed and will involve companies, the government, and academics from Indonesia and Malaysia. The cooperation agreement is planned to be signed on May 2018. CSSPO is asked to be part of the Asia academia, especially for studies related to oil palm smallholders.

From 9 to 10 December 2017, CSSPO held a coordination meeting on preparations for the 2018 CSSPO International Conference. The meeting was held in the Meeting Room of the Faculty of Agriculture, USU. The meeting was attended by:

1. Vice-Rector III of USU
2. Vice Deans I, II, and III of the Faculty of Agriculture of USU
3. Vice Chancellor IV of UNIMAL
4. CSSPO Members in USU
5. CSSPO Members in UNJA
6. CSSPO Members in UNIMAL
7. CIRAD

In collaboration with the International Affairs Office of Universitas Sumatera Utara, CSSPO held a public lecture for students from the University of Tasmania on December 7, 2017. The lecture discussed the sustainable management of the palm oil industry.

The activity continued with a field visit to Sei Mangkei to directly observe the sustainable management of the palm oil industry.

From August 23 to 24, 2017, CSSPO members held an Annual Meeting in Sanur, Bali. This Annual Meeting aims to evaluate activities in 2017 and plan activities for 2018. This Annual Meeting was attended by consortium members from USU, JAMBI, and UPM Malaysia.

The results of the meeting are as follows:

1. CSSPO will discuss the possibility of cooperation with CIRAD, France. Marcel will arrange a meeting between CSSPO and CIRAD or SALSA staff between September 20 to 27, 2017, either in Medan or Jakarta.
2. CSSPO received an offer from the Sarawak institution to hold an international seminar/conference in Sarawak, Malaysia. UPM will represent CSSPO as the PIC. Related parties will discuss coordination with the Sarawak institution in USU, Medan. Currently, these parties are determining the meeting date.
3. The CSSPO website has been extended, and USU, UNJA, UNIMAL, and UPM have paid their 2018 annual membership fee. However, the website does not yet display the contributions of CSSPO members (universities or individuals) and programs related to palm oil. Details can be sent to Riantri (riantribarus@yahoo.com) to be uploaded. For administration purposes, CSSPO may integrate its website with USU after 2018, and USU will be the primary funding contributor.
4. In 2018, expenditures for each CSSPO branch will still be the responsibility of their respective university.

The oil palm-cattle integrated system (Sistem Integrasi Sawit – Sapi/SISKA) is a national program that aims to support food self-sufficiency. However, not many SISKA programs have survived as they are considered less profitable. Based on this, the CSSPO consortium (USU, UNJA, and UNIMAL), together with the Master of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agriculture, USU, PERHEPI Medan Regional Commission, and PERHEPI Padang Regional Commission held a Workshop themed “Oil Palm-Cattle Integrated System”.

The workshop involved various stakeholders and produced a formula that was outlined in a policy brief. This formula was submitted to policymakers to used as input to improve the oil palm-livestock integration model. This workshop was held on:

Day/Date         : Thursday/6 July 2017

Place                : IMT-GT Room, Academic Administration Bureau Building (Rector’s Bureau), USU

Time                : 08.00 WIB-15.00 WIB

The materials presented by the speakers can be downloaded using the links below.

1. Bayu KR_PP PERHEPI

2. Erizal Jamal_KEMENTAN

3. Alexander Maha_PTPN III

4. Benjamin Hutagalung_Asian Agri

5. Askardya Patrianov_Pemprov Riau

6. Tatang M Ibrahim_BPTP SUMUT

7. Yanhendri_BPTUHPT Sumbar

The results of the workshop are presented in the formulation of a Policy Brief which can be downloaded using the links below.

1. Policy Brief

2. Minutes

In preparation for joint research, which will be presented at the International Conference and Congress of The Indonesian Society of Agricultural Economics ICC-ISAE 2017, on 23 – 26 August 2017 in Sanur, Bali, consortium members held a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 18 May 2017.

The meeting discussed data collection, analysis techniques, and follow-up activities.

Smallholdings have become an increasingly important part of the development of oil palm in Indonesia. Since 2015, smallholdings make up more than 40% of the total oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Over four million hectares consist of plants above 25 years old and require urgent replanting. However, many smallholders do not have enough capital to do so. To overcome this, the Oil palm plantation Fund Management Agency (Badan Pengelola Dana Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit/BPDPKS) initiated a replanting program for smallholdings. Per Government Regulation No. 61/2015 concerning Collection and Use of Palm Oil Plantation Funds, this program is funded by the Indonesian palm oil export levies. Preparations for this program include replanting training for oil palm smallholders in all smallholding centers, including Labuhanbatu. The training was opened by M. Yusuf Siagian, the Regional Secretary of Labuhanbatu, and attended by Yusri Indra Nasution, SP, representative of the Labuhanbatu Agriculture Office, Mr. Dr. Ir. Hasanuddin, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asmar Arsjad, Secretary-General of APKASINDO, Ir. Gus Dalhari Harahap, Chairman of the North Sumatra branch of DPW APKASINDO, and all training participants. The training was conducted in class for three days, featuring Prof. Dr. Ir. Abdul Rauf, MP, Prof. Dr. Darma Bakti, MS, Ir. Diana Chalil, MSi, PhD, and Ir. Yusak Maryunianta, MSi from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asian Agri, which has successfully trained smallholders, and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. In addition, oil palm smallholders from Riau who have undergone replanting with funding support from BPDPKS were also featured.

The activity continued with a two-day field trip to Asia Agri and PT Socfin Indonesia. This field trip is expected to paint a complete picture of the in-class material. The training was attended by 47 smallholders from various sub-districts in Labuhanbatu.

Smallholdings have become an increasingly important part of the development of oil palm in Indonesia. Since 2015, smallholdings make up more than 40% of the total oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Over four million hectares consist of plants above 25 years old and require urgent replanting. However, many smallholders do not have enough capital to do so. To overcome this, the Oil palm plantation Fund Management Agency (Badan Pengelola Dana Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit/BPDPKS) initiated a replanting program for smallholdings. Per Government Regulation No. 61/2015 concerning Collection and Use of Palm Oil Plantation Funds, this program is funded by the Indonesian palm oil export levies. Preparations for this program include replanting training for oil palm smallholders in all smallholding centers, including North Labuhanbatu. The training was opened by M Arwin Tambunan, SP, head of the North Labuhanbatu Plantation Service, and attended by Yusri Indra Nasution, SP, representative of the Labuhanbatu Agriculture Office, Mr. Dr. Ir. Hasanuddin, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asmar Arsjad, Secretary-General of APKASINDO, Ir. Gus Dalhari Harahap, Chairman of the North Sumatra branch of DPW APKASINDO, and all training participants. The training was conducted in class for three days, featuring Prof. Dr. Ir. Abdul Rauf, MP, Prof. Dr. Darma Bakti, MS, Ir. Diana Chalil, MSi, PhD, and Ir. Yusak Maryunianta, MSi from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asian Agri, which has successfully trained smallholders, and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. In addition, oil palm smallholders from Riau who have undergone replanting with funding support from BPDPKS were also featured.

The activity continued with a two-day field trip to Asia Agri and PT Socfin Indonesia. This field trip is expected to paint a complete picture of the in-class material. The training was attended by 47 smallholders from various sub-districts in North Labuhanbatu.

Through this training, participants should be better prepared to conduct replanting to improve their performance and welfare.

In preparation for the 2017 CSSPO Consortium, the vice-rector and consortium members held a coordination meeting from 13 to 14 January 2017 at Universitas Sumatera Utara.

This meeting resulted in the formation of a consortium organizational structure and a 2017 activity roadmap which consists of:

1. Joint Research: Global Supply Chain
2. Palm Oil-Cattle Integration Model Workshop
3. Diplomatic Workshop (Sustainable Global Supply Chain)
4. Annual Meeting
5. Web Maintenance

To disseminate the results of previous research, a consortium member held a lecture at The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan. Pakistan is a potential market for Indonesian CPO exports. In 2010, Indonesia exported 90.30 thousand tons (0.05%) of its palm oil to Pakistan. Export increased to 2,318.40 thousand tons (8.76%) in 2015 (BPS Indonesia, 2016).

The lectures titled “SEMINAR ON SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS OF PALM OIL” and “PAKISTAN’S SELECTIVE MARKET’S SURVEY” were held from 19 to 26 December 2016.