Press Releases Fulfilling Sustainability Standards, Cooperatives Participating in Sawit Terampil Programme Achieve RSPO Certification

Jakarta, 4 December 2024 – Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is pleased to announce that one of its independent smallholder cooperatives, enrolled in the Sawit Terampil programme, has achieved Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification.

Koperasi Jasa Sawit Lepan Jaya (KJSLJ) from Langkat, North Sumatra, comprising 250 independent smallholders covering 368 hectares, is the second independent smallholder organisation to achieve RSPO certification through the Sawit Terampil programme. The certification was awarded to Ardiyanto, group manager and chairman of KJSLJ, during the RSPO Roundtable Conference (RT) in Bangkok, Thailand, which took place from 11–13 November 2024.

The Sawit Terampil programme is a comprehensive capacity-building initiative designed to provide independent smallholders with the knowledge and skills needed to implement best management practices in palm oil production, with the hope of increasing their productivity.

“This is an important milestone for the farmers participating in the Sawit Terampil Programme who wish to obtain RSPO sustainability certification. The main goal of this program is to implement best farming practices, help prepare farmers to meet existing sustainability criteria, and also comply with Indonesian government regulations,” said Helena Delima Lumban Gaol, Head of Smallholders Innovation Department, who leads the Sawit Terampil programme.

The Sawit Terampil programme also encourages independent smallholders to obtain Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, as outlined in the 2019–2024 National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil Plantations (Rencana Aksi Nasional Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan – RAN KSB). One requirement for this is that farmers must obtain a Cultivation Registration Certificate (Surat Tanda Daftar Budidaya – STDB) from the local government. The Sawit Terampil Programme assists both the government and smallholders in accelerating the issuance of STDB by mapping the lands of smallholders participating in the programme. The farmers’ land maps (geo-locations) serve as a basis for obtaining the STDB.

“Not only have we gained a great deal of knowledge related to good agricultural practices, which enabled us to achieve RSPO certification—an international standard—but we have also been greatly assisted by the mapping carried out by the Sawit Terampil Programme. We were finally able to complete the STDB form and have submitted it to the government. Hopefully, the STDB will be issued soon,” said Ardiyanto, chairman of KJSLJ.

Strengthening supply chains by encouraging certification readiness
In addition to KJSLJ, another independent smallholder organisation participating in the Sawit Terampil Programme, CV Perangin-angin Group (CV PAG), with 299 farmers in Aceh Subulussalam, also received a recommendation from the Certification Body to obtain RSPO certification. At the end of 2023, the first Sawit Terampil programme participant, Perkumpulan Sejahtera Petani Nusantara (PSPN) from North Aceh, achieved RSPO certification in Jakarta.

As of October 2024, the Sawit Terampil Programme has trained more than 9,000 independent smallholders, who are now included in Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food’s supply chain across several districts in Aceh and Langkat district, North Sumatra.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food aims to scale up Sawit Terampil to reach a total of 100,000 smallholders trained by 2035.

About Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food
Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, part of the Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) group of companies, is a leading global agribusiness based on palm oil production, with a planted area of more than 532.488 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as of 31 March 2024. The company has an integrated operation producing food made from raw vegetable oils.

Its parent company, GAR was founded in 1996 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 with a market capitalisation of US$2.5 billion as of 28 March 2024. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GAR’s largest shareholder, with a 50.56 % stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is focused on sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; merchandising and refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, and biodiesel; as well as trading of palm oil products worldwide. It also has operations in China and India including a deep-sea port, oilseeds crushing plants, production capabilities for refined edible oil products as well as other food products such as noodles.

For more information about our company, visit https://www.smart-tbk.com