AreaIndonesia

Commodity GroupOilseeds, oils and meals

CommodityPalm oil

Date01/05/2018

Policy CategoryTrade

Policy InstrumentTrade standard

DescriptionConducted research into the adoption of the country\'s ISPO standard by smallholders, reporting a number of challenges,in particular: a lack of assistance in adopting agricultural best practices; unclear land ownership; and a lack of access toISPO compliant seedlings and fertilizer.

NotesIn Indonesia, small oil palm farmers have been given time until end 2020 to achieve ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification. However, based on a recent study by Indonesia’s Bogor Institute of Agriculture, smallholders – who account for 40 percent of the country’s oil palm plantation area – may not be ready to adopt the national standard. Reportedly, small growers are faced with a variety of challenges, in particular a lack of assistance in adopting agricultural best practices and unclear land ownership status (NB: in order to qualify for certification, farmers are required to prove legal ownership of their land). Especially in those instances where smallholders manage plantations inside forest areas, obtaining the required land titles may prove difficult. Another problem is that many farmers lack access to ISPO-compliant seedlings and fertilizer (the use of which has been made mandatory in a bid to boost productivity on small farms).