The independent, oil palm smallholders in Pandu Sanjaya village have been supported to be certified according the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) standards.

The certification process commenced on 31 May 2021 and involved mapping of smallholders, training and supporting farmers obtain all the necessary legal documents. Farmers were also trained in August 2022 on free and fair work, occupational health and safety, and identification of high conservation value areas.

The main audit is expected to be completed in December 2022. After getting certified, farmers can sell the certificates for certified sustainable palm oil and palm kernel oil in RSPO’s online trading platform, Palm Trace, where they can obtain a price premium.

Farmers in the village belong to a district, oil palm farmer association called the Association of Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers (APLKS), which was established to provide services for all farmers in Kotawaringin Barat district who wish to be certified. The district farmer association aims to reduce the costs of certification by bringing it to scale.

Impacts:
Oil palm farmers have learned good agricultural practices and obtained legal documentation. Farmers have adopted good agricultural practice in their oil palm plantations. For instance, they have adopted natural pest management techniques such as using the white buttercup flower (Turnera subulata), which helps eradicate pests in oil palm plantations They also plant hardwood/woody plants in riparian areas, five meters from the river.

Intervention Details:
Number of farmers supported : 434 farmers from KUD (Village Unit Cooperative) Karya Tani and 195 farmers from BUMDes (Village-Owned Enterprises) Pandu Sejahtera
Total area : 1,012 hectares of land from KUD (Village Unit Cooperative) Karya Tani and 326 hectares of land from BUMDes (Village-Owned Enterprises) Pandu Sejahtera
Number of land parcels : 511 land parcels in KUD (Village Unit Cooperative) Karya Tani farmers and 420 land parcels in BUMDes (Village-Owned Enterprises) Pandu Sejahtera farmers
Total production (per year) : 2.4 tons per hectare

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