German chemical and biotechnology giant BASF collaborates with Solidaridad, Estée Lauder Companies and RSPO to promote sustainable palm oil production in Lampung, Indonesia.
Backed by the Indonesian government, Project Lampung has provided technical support and training to more than 1,000 smallholder farmers since 2018. On November 20, BASF reported that the program helped 313 farmers obtain RSPO certification, making it the first group certified in the state.
Marcelo Lu, senior vice president of BASF Care Chemicals, highlighted the Lampung Project. In three years, almost a third of supported farmers achieved RSPO certification. Before the scheme, smallholder farmers had limited exposure to sustainable palm oil practices. Furthermore, the cooperative lacked a strategic focus on supporting farmers.
Therefore, an educational program was implemented to empower palm oil producers, improving their knowledge about sustainable production. This included raising awareness about the importance of planting certified seedlings, as mentioned by the company.
Under the project, farmers were given access to certified seedlings to boost productivity.
“The transformation of the food supply chain Palm oil It therefore depends exclusively on small farmers. We are therefore pleased to offer technical support and knowledge to adopt climate-smart production practices,” said Yeni Fitriyanti, country manager at Solidaridad Indonesia.
With the support of a strengthened cooperative, project partners therefore collaborated with the Indonesian government and other local organizations. They carried out social and environmental impact assessments, mapped farmers' fields and uploaded relevant data to the RSPO database. The objective was, therefore, to verify the absence of deforestation or land conversion.
Source: Oils & Fats International
