RSPO targets certification of half of Indonesia`s palm oil plantations

Palembang (Antarasumsel.com) - A non-profit organization, Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), has targeted to certify 50 percent of palm oil plantations in Indonesia by 2020.

RSPO Director Tiur Rumondang said here on Wednesday that the RSPO certification would become an essential tool for producers as they are required by exporters of crude palm oil and other palm oil products.

"European countries and America have required (the certification). In the future, RSPO certification would be a key factor to maintain sustainable palm oil business chain," she stated.

Indonesia, which supplies 50 percent of the world`s palm oil demand, has certified some 18 percent or 1.8 million hectares of the total 11 million hectares of palm oil plantations.

Unlike the ISPO certification, which is mandatory, the RSPO certification is a voluntary move.

"This means, it is the result of a change in behavior of businessmen. Hence, we have to encourage them, as we are still facing various issues such as environment issues, deforestation, green house effect, and biodiversity issue," Tiur noted.

The organization has called on various parties in the palm oil production chain to certify their products.

Indonesian palm oil products have been exported mostly to China and India, which do not require RSPO certification. But such certification would become mandatory in the global market in the future.

"So far, RSPO certification was seen as an effective tool to counter environmental issues," Tiur added.

RSPO is a non-profit organization that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry, namely oil palm producers, processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/investors, environmental, and social non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil production.

RSPO has set eight principles of palm oil supply chain, from its process, sales, and buying that would be renewed every five years, to check its commitment to transparency, sustainable farming system, and productivity enhancement.

In 2016, as many as 2.7 thousand independent palm oil farmers with 5.5 thousand hectares of land in three subdistricts of Ogan Komering Ilir in South Sumatra had received the RSPO sustainable certification.

It has become the largest group of farmers that have received such a certification.

"We have proved that independent palm oil farmers could meet international standards," a farmer Amin Rohmad remarked, adding that it was not easy to get the certification as it requires them to have to change their working culture.