The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The RSPO standards were developed and set in a multi-stakeholder environment, to address the main environmental, social and economic challenges associated with conventional palm oil production. When properly applied, these standards can minimize the negative impact of oil palm cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.
RSPO is currently supporting several local initiatives to develop a system to support certification at a jurisdictional level for the sustainable production of palm oil. The jurisdictional certification approach requires a jurisdiction (a governmental administrative territory that applies a specific system of laws and regulations) to meet the criteria in one or more sustainable certification system(s). It is meant to address sustainability concerns such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, resource management, land conflict and the application of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) which are difficult to solve at an operational unit level (i.e. farm, mill) without wider engagement with government and society. This approach is expected to lower the entry barrier for smallholders to participate in the sustainable palm oil supply chain through wider multi-stakeholder collaboration, reduced transaction costs, and provision of government support. It is currently being piloted at the sub-national level in both Malaysia and Indonesia and this project proposal is focused on two such pilots being conducted in the state of Sabah (Malaysia) and the district of Seruyan (Central Kalimantan, Indonesia).
The objective of this project is to increase the capacity of smallholders to adopt agricultural practices that improve productivity while reducing negative environmental and social impacts. This will be achieved through a variety of pilot initiatives, which include facilitating the capacity building on best management practices (BMPs) for the smallholders, developing formal agricultural curriculum on BMPs, engaging mills to conduct agricultural extension programmes and conducting learning exchanges between the two project sites. The outputs from these pilots will be scaled up at the jurisdictional level to be implemented state-wide in Sabah and district-wide in Seruyan.
Sabah smallholders visited an RSPO certified smallholders group, KUD Tani Subur in Kalimantan at the second Knowledge Exchange Program planned in the project.
Implemented in
- Asia / Pacific
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
Sectors of activity
Agricultural and Fishery, Education, Scientific Research, Development and Innovation
Type of initiative
Capacity Building & Implementation, Education & Awareness Raising
Budget
283294 US$
Start date
01/10/2017
End date
30/07/2019
Submitted on:
21/11/2017Objectives
The smallholder farmers in the Seruyan district are operating at 30% less productivity than other oil palm growers. Sustainability and certification adds a significant requirement that smallholders in Seruyan are unable to achieve without external intervention. This project will support the establishment of an Agricultural Facility to support smallholders in Seruyan district. Beginning with the leadership demonstrated by the provincial government of Central Kalimantan announcing commitment to 100% sustainable palm oil by 2019, the local government of Seruyan, as well smallholder farmers there have shown firm commitment to working towards jurisdictional certification. The purpose of the Agricultural Facility is to ultimately provide direct support and training for capacity building for 1,000 smallholder oil palm farmers. The pilot project proposed here would develop rigorously researched model for the Facility, and establish a train-the-trainer program for 100 farmers who will later upscale the program to train 1,000 farmers. The Facility will:
● Serve as a training academy to build the knowledge and capacity base among smallholders on Good Agricultural Practices and other key principles of sustainable agriculture;
● Provide access to agricultural inputs including seeds, fertilizers, and a nursery.
● Develop partnerships with the local and regional financial community to develop a mechanism for the extension of low-interest loans to the smallholders.
In Sabah, the project will trial a set of four intervention activities with approximately 2,000 smallholders in 20 selected villages in the Telupid, Tongod, Beluran and Kinabatangan districts (TTBK). This region has been selected because it represents a wide range of circumstances for a large concentration of smallholders; furthermore, there are many on-going activities in the TTBK area upon which to build. At the end of the funding period, a plan for full implementation of smallholder interventions throughout the state will be crafted based on the experiences from the TTBK trials.
In the final stages of this project, field visits and learning exchange workshops will be organized for some of the smallholders in Seruyan and Sabah so that they are able to benefit from the respective experiences and lessons from both project sites. RSPO works with smallholders across Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa through the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund and the RSPO Smallholder Academy. These are ready platforms to disseminate the results and achievements from this project and can be turned into case studies when working with smallholder groups from other regions. RSPO also conducts annual conferences and member events in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe whereby there are always workshops and learning sessions specific to smallholders. The outputs from this project will be highlighted and promoted during these events.
Activities
As collected through the One Planet Reporting
Output level
Knowledge resource and technical tool
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Smallholder Readiness for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Jurisdictional Certification of Palm Oil by 2025 - Trial Sustainable Smallholder Community Programme in TTBK, Sabah.
Smallholder Readiness for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Jurisdictional Certification of Palm Oil by 2025 - Trial Sustainable Smallholder Community Programme in TTBK, Sabah.
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Forever Sabah
Objective
The main objective of this activity is to make more visible the realities and aspirations of Sabah's oil palm smallholders and to identify the gaps between the smallholders' current agricultural and management practices and the social, environmental and legal standards requirement under the state of Sabah's Jurisdictional Certification commitment 2025. The sub-activities conducted to achieve the objectives are: 1. Conduct smallholder needs assessment in the trialed areas, Telupid, Tongod, Beluran and Kinabatangan (TTBK) - which aims to establish a baseline measurements of the current gaps and needs of the TTBK smallholders, with regards to their management and agricultural practices. The baseline assessment and findings will serve as a comparison point after interventions to their practices have been made. 2. Map the communities' traditional resources - which aims to understand the extend of the smallholders' traditional resources apart from oil palm. 3. Establish village committees for capacity building in each of the identified villages (20) across TTBK - which aims to organize the smallholders into groups so that capacity building training can be delivered more effectively, ensuring the transfer of knowledge within the communities is actively happening. 4. Assess the effectiveness of the existing agronomic extension models in the trailed 20 villages across TTBK - which aims to understand the the smallholders current agronomic practices and identify the practices that need improvement. 5. Develop an intervention model to address identified smallholders needs - which aims to improve the current practices to be more sustainable for the environment, improve social well-being and provide financial safeguard to the smallholders. 6. Implement the intervention model in the trialed 20 villages across TTBK - with the aim to introduce the smallholders to best management practices with the assistance from the local mills. 7. Assess effectiveness of the intervention model - to assess the impacts of the intervention model, identify gaps and improve the model to fit the smallholders needs. Upon the completion of the activities, the final deliverable of the project will be a draft roadmap for full smallholders intervention model for the entire Sabah. The roadmap will be presented to the Jurisdictional Certification Steering Committee (JCSC) for endorsement.
Achievements
The key reason why the TTBK region was chosen for the pilot is because this region is known as the 'lowest hanging fruit', in which, the region spans zones of oil palm all the way to new frontiers; governed by the same administrative region and it was where some smallholder certification work had begun. Although certification work has started in the region, RSPO Certification is still considered relatively new to the TTBK smallholders. It took considerable amount of time to conduct the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to get the smallholders to participate in the activities. The smallholders were reluctant to share information or even participate in the activities, especially activities which involved mapping exercises, fearing that they will lose their land. Forever Sabah, being a new NGO operating in the region, had difficulty penetrating into the communities due to issues with trusts. It was reported that several villages had rejected the program making the selection of the trial villages tricky and time consuming, in the early phase. It took Forever Sabah more than six months to identify the 20 villages and establish the village committees - which massively delayed the implementation of the project. Despite the early challenges, it was a pleasant experience working with the smallholders as they have been very cooperative and goal-driven to adopt sustainable farming practices. A comprehensive survey was deployed to the smallholders across the 20 villages to get insights on the current agronomic practices. The results were then used to develop the TTBK smallholders intervention model, which was trialed across the 20 villages with the assistance from identified local mills. The effectiveness of the intervention model was assessed and improvement was adopted in the form of a full roadmap for smallholder intervention for the whole of Sabah. The full roadmap for smallholder intervention takes into account the experience from the TTBK trial (from FPIC to implementing the various programs in the intervention model) and it now covers the other four divisions (Interior Sandakan, Tawau, Kudat, and West Coast). Currently, the roadmap is sitting with Forever Sabah waiting for the the JCSC to gather in early 2020 to proceed with the endorsement. Upon endorsement, the activities within the roadmap will be implemented for all 33,000 smallholders in Sabah by 2025. Through this activity, a couple of achievement was unlocked: 1. An intervention model that highlights the next steps for smallholder intervention in the next five years 2. Structured smallholders engagement strategy (FPIC) 3. The information of the smallholders magnitude in Sabah is available The above will greatly assist RSPO certification work, thus contributing to the UN SDG. Some challenges that are worth highlighting: 1. Stakeholders engagement is a time-challenging process - delays were experienced due to the states General Election; local mills were not being cooperative; government bodies were slow and unresponsive etc.
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Establishment of an Agricultural Facility (AF) in Seruyan for Smallholders Capacity Building
Establishment of an Agricultural Facility (AF) in Seruyan for Smallholders Capacity Building
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
INOBU
Objective
The purpose of this activity is to establish a facility (called the Agricultural Facility or AF) to provide direct support and training for capacity building for 1,000 smallholder oil palm farmers. The pilot project proposed here would develop rigorously researched model for the Facility, and establish a train-the-trainer program for 100 farmers who will later upscale the program to train 1,000 farmers. The Facility will: ● Serve as a training academy to build the knowledge and capacity base among smallholders on Good Agricultural Practices and other key principles of sustainable agriculture; ● Provide access to agricultural inputs including seeds, fertilizers, and a nursery . ● Develop partnerships with the local and regional financial community to develop mechanism for the extension of low interest loans to the smallholders.
Achievements
The AF was successfully established in February 2018. It currently operates in within the Seruyan district government office with two staff taking care of the AF's daily operations. Many parties were involved in the establishment of the AF, including the Government of Seruyan district, NGOs, oil palm companies and Gapoktan (Golongan Kelompok Tani, i.e.: smallholder groups). The wide-stakeholder involvement is in line with the Seruyan district commitment for the production of sustainable palm oil. At the time of establishment, the parties have collaborated to map 2,981 independent smallholders (with total area of 6,657 hectare). Other activities that have been completed by the AF in the span of the projects are: 1. Training of trainers program for 100 smallholders - which involved the development of training curriculum, leveraging the expertise from the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta 2. Develop mill-smallholder integrated program - which involved collaboration with local oil palm mills to train 100 smallholders 3. Develop the AF five-year workplan highlighting the capacity building and support for smallholders, as well as strategies on how the AF can self-sustain itself. The accomplishment of this activity is heavily dependent to the government roles and support. The success of the establishment was due to the commitment invested by the Seruyan government throughout the entire project. The AF is currently running on the funds provided in the project, as well as the funds obtained from the multi-stakeholder collaboration. Currently, insufficient funding is seen as the main challenge for the AF to operate. Due to the insufficient funding, the AF is not operating in its full capacity - it only provides training and is not currently providing agricultural inputs to smallholders. The AF has targeted to have a more robust financial mechanism in place in five years to help self-sustain itself without relying on external funds. The agricultural input service will be available to smallholders in 2022 (based on the AF five-year workplan).
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The Development of the Smallholder Facilitated Application Process in TTBK Sabah
The Development of the Smallholder Facilitated Application Process in TTBK Sabah
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Forever Sabah
Objective
The objective of the activity is to solve all land application issues in TTBK Sabah. In order to do this, a FLAP methodology is developed to facilitate the land application process for smallholders with existing palm, including those who are operating in forest reserves. Ultimately, a roadmap on the FLAP program implementation across Sabah will be developed based on the experience in TTBK.
Achievements
Due to the lack of commitment shown by the Sabah Land Survey Department (LSD) and Sandakan Land Use Committee (LUC), the main objective of the activity (resolving the land application issues in TTBK), is not achieved. The following sub-activities were completed: 1. The development of FLAP methodology. The methodology has gone through three revisions and has been circulated to the LUC. 2. Participatory mapping was completed without the involvement of the LUC. 1219 TTBK smallholders who have land application issues were identified and mapped. These smallholders have been enrolled in the FLAP program. 3. Land application dossiers have been submitted to the LUC for approval. A roadmap was developed based on the TTBK experience. The roadmap highlights the strategies to implement the FLAP program throughout Sabah. Due to the delays, the implementation will begin in TTBK itself and then continue with the rest of the divisions. Getting the local authority to get involved in the activities is the main barrier to the full completion of the activity. The smallholders were cooperative and ready to provide the information needed to complete the land application process. Perhaps the next step is to devise an outreach strategy to reach out to the responsibility authority to level the understanding and set common objectives.
Training for SCP
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Learning Exchange Program between the Seruyan and Sabah Smallholders.
Learning Exchange Program between the Seruyan and Sabah Smallholders.
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Objective
In the final stages of this project, field visits and learning exchange workshops were organized for some of the smallholders in Seruyan and Sabah. The objectives of the field visits and learning exchange workshop is to benefit the smallholders from the respective experiences and lessons from both project sites.
Achievements
Knowledge exchange network between the two pilots, involving all the partners and smallholders, is established as the results of the knowledge exchange program. Two knowledge exchange program were conducted in the span of the project: 1. 15 participants (smallholders and INOBU) from Seruyan visited the TTBK smallholders in November 2018 2. 20 participants (smallholders and Forever Sabah) from TTBK visited the Seruyan smallholders in February 2019 The knowledge exchange consisted of field visits (to the smallholders farms and other supporting facilities such the Agricultural Facility in Seruyan) and learning workshops. For many of these smallholders, this was a golden opportunity to experience the reality of the smallholders' conditions from the respective pilot areas. The first knowledge exchange in Sabah focused on exchanging the information gained from the 'Smallholder Readiness for RSPO Certification' activity as well as lessons learn thus far. In the second knowledge exchange, the smallholders had the chance to meet with the local government of Seruyan to gain insights on the government is playing an important role in the process of achieving the RSPO Jurisdictional Certification. Comparing the Seruyan and Sabah smallholders, none of the TTBK smallholders are RSPO certified. In Seruyan field visit, the TTBK smallholders had the chance to visit one RSPO certified smallholder group and two groups that are in the process of obtaining RSPO certification. The Seruyan smallholder groups shared their RSPO certification experience to motivate the TTBK smallholders to achieve the same. Apart from that, the TTBK smallholders also had the opportunity to learn from the Seruyan smallholders on applied Best Management Practices (BMPs) in their farms. At the end of both knowledge exchange program, the smallholders expressed their gratitude for the learning opportunity. Suggestions were being thrown to keep the knowledge exchange program alive (i.e.: having the program on annual basis) for the purpose of continuous improvement and effective transfer of knowledge. RSPO works with smallholders across Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa through the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund and the RSPO Smallholder Academy. Perhaps, these already available platform can be used to disseminate the results and achievements from this project and can be turned into case studies when working with smallholder groups from other regions. RSPO also conducts annual conferences and member events in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe whereby there are always workshops and learning sessions specific to smallholders. These will be ready platforms for smallholders around the globe to participate and interact to exchange knowledge. The outputs from this project will be highlighted and promoted during RSPO events mentioned above.
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Development of Training Curriculum for the Agricultural Facility in Seruyan
Development of Training Curriculum for the Agricultural Facility in Seruyan
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
INOBU
Objective
The main goal of this activity is to equip the Agricultural Facility with its own training curriculum. The development of the first training curriculum will be focused on the topic of Best Management Practices (BMPs), in line with the project objective to increase the capacity of smallholders to adopt agricultural practices that improve productivity while reducing negative environmental social impacts. To achieve the above, training of Trainers (ToT) programs were conducted. The ToT program aimed to gather participants feedback for the improvement of the training curriculum. Additionally, the aim of conducting the ToT program is to identify potential trainers that can conduct training for the AF.
Achievements
To develop the training curriculum, a collaboration with University Gadjah Mada was formalised. The training module was developed in two stages: 1. Literature review by University Gadjah Mada in which available BMPs, applicable to the South East Asia region, are collated. The first draft of the training module was based on this exercise. 2. Three training sessions conducted for three batches of smallholders and local extension officers. After the completion of each of training session, the training curriculum was improved based on the participants' feedback. Overall, apart from the slight delay in the training implementation (due to conflicting schedules), the activity was a success. A comprehensive training module (109 pages) was successfully developed for the AF and the training module will be used for the upcoming training sessions planned by the AF in their five-year workplan. The module is currently in Bahasa Indonesia to ease smallholders. This module will be included in the RSPO Smallholder Academy resources and to be translated to other languages, if necessary.
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Training of Trainers for TTBK Smallholders on Best Management Practices
Training of Trainers for TTBK Smallholders on Best Management Practices
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Forever Sabah
Objective
The goal of this activity is to collaborate with the local government (the Malaysian Palm Oil Board) and an NGO (WildAsia) on a Training of Trainers (ToT) program in TTBK. Through the ToT program, qualified smallholders will be selected to conduct training for the rest of the smallholders. At the end of the activity, it is expected that: 1. An MOU has been signed between Forever Sabah and WildAsia for the development of the ToT program 2. Selection of trainers for the first phase has been completed 3. The selected trainers have conducted at least one training 4. Training schedule is available for 1000 smallholders
Achievements
All objectives were achieved in this activity. In the original project proposal, the ToT program was intended for Sabah Department of Agriculture (DOA) personnel. However, due to the lack of support and interest shown by the DOA, in June 2019, a request was tabled to UNEP to revise the deliverable of this activity. The revision was to work with the MPOB and WildAsia to develop a ToT program, utilising available resources (MPOB and RSPO training modules, WildAsia training capacity), for the TTBK smallholders. The revision of the activity was approved as the impact focus is still on the smallholders. Furthermore, transfer of knowledge is ensured and peer to peer learning is more preferred by the smallholders. The activity will continue beyond the project period. Upon the completion of the training, more trainers will be identified and a strategy will be devise on how to approach the rest of the divisions across Sabah, with regards to efficient transfer of knowledge.
Impact and Results
Expectation:
The success of this project will result in improved livelihoods for at least 50,000 schemed and independent smallholders in Sabah and 5,311 independent smallholders in Seruyan.
Reality:
Upon the completion of the project:
1. A total of 1219 smallholders have benefited from the activities in TTBK, Sabah
2. A total of 683 smallholders have benefited from the activities in Seruyan, Indonesia.
Although the expected outcome was not achieved, this project has initiated a positive movement for sustainability, especially for the RSPO Jurisdictional Approach. Below are the achievements of the project:
1. Smallholders needs are identified and addressed through training and capacity-building activities;
2. Roadmaps for smallholder intervention across a wider area (jurisdiction i.e.: Sabah and Seruyan) were developed, aiding to the overall process of achieving RSPO Jurisdictional Certification. This includes methodologies and strategies for intervention;
3. The first Agricultural Facility (AF) that supports Seruyan smallholders with capacity building activities, agricultural inputs, and financial management was established;
4. With regards to the decision-making process, a multistakeholder approach was applied in both pilot areas; and
5. Smallholders are involved in the sustainability movement through the knowledge exchange and Training of Trainers (ToT) programs.
The findings and results of the project will help to shape the development of the Certification System Document for RSPO Jurisdictional Certification, especially on the smallholder requirements. In addition to this, the activities contributed to the overall RSPO's Smallholder Strategy, as well as the RSPO Smallholder Academy implementation. For example, the design of the Agricultural Facility in Seruyan can be replicated in other regions and act as RSPO's training academy to host training program; the Facilitated Land Application Process methodology in Sabah can be replicated in areas with similar legal requirements; and the knowledge exchange program can be extended to areas beyond the South East Asia region for wider knowledge sharing.
Both pilot areas have developed separate roadmaps for their smallholder intervention strategy and these roadmaps can be used as benchmark or examples for other regions to replicate. In addition, a clear strategy is now available for the pilot areas to certify their smallholders (50,000 smallholders in Sabah and 5,311smallholders in Seruyan).
Next steps and how to get involved
The activities reported in this project are part of the respective pilots' roadmaps for RSPO Jurisdictional Certification. Therefore, most of the activities will be continued, with improved objectives and goals after the project period. Interested stakeholders who wish to learn more about the respective RSPO Jurisdictional Certification Pilots may directly contact RSPO at dillon.sarim@rspo.org or direct your intentions to the two local implementers, Forever Sabah for Sabah, Malaysia, and INOBU for Seruyan, Indonesia.
RSPO is currently developing a Certification System Document (CSD) for the jurisdictional approach to certification. The results and findings of this project will be used as a benchmark to guide the development of the CSD. The CSD will be going through the second round of public consultation process in February 2020 for another 60 days. Interested stakeholders who wish to take part in the public consultation process, may refer to our website (www.rspo.org) for more information, otherwise, contact dillon.sarim@rspo.org.