In cooperation with the Indonesian Palm Oil Forum for Smallholders FORTASBI and the Indonesian NGOs Setara-Jambi and CAPPA, FONAP members have been engaged in Indonesia, the largest palm oil producing country, since March 2022.
The project is now entering its second phase. From Tanjung Jabung Barat in the province of Jambi on Sumatra, it is expanding into the neighbouring district of Tebo. In substance, it builds on the successes of the first phase.
Cooperatives engage in reforestation
The project region is located in the buffer zone to Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park. Wildfires caused devastation there in 2017 and 2018. Now three cooperatives want to help restore it across an area of 17 hectares. To that end they are planting crops such as candlenut trees. Coffee can also thrive in the shade of rainforest trees. The idea behind this is known as social forestry: not only the forest, but also the smallholders are to benefit from it.
During the first phase of the project, planting already began. Now the groups are receiving support in professionalising. This is to ensure that the seedlings are well cared for and that the members of the groups can actually increase their income.
Women’s groups run nurseries
In order to restore the forest through social forestry, smallholders need seedlings. During the first phase of the project, women’s groups with a total of 70 members set up three nurseries. They sell young coffee plants and candlenut trees to the smallholder groups and at nearby markets.
The second phase is aimed at enabling them to generate an ongoing income from this. With the support of the project, the women will, for example, draw up business plans and register officially. Additionally, the cooperation between the women’s groups and the smallholder groups is to be strengthened.
Villages engage in river protection
The Pengabuan River flows through the project area. On its banks, five villages have begun to create protection zones and green buffer strips. Among other things, in the long term they want to reduce the proportion of oil palms that reach down to the bank. As part of the traditional Lubuk Larangan concept, they also regulate fishing along a 4.5-kilometre section of the river. Ten villages that wish to protect the river together have also founded the River Watch Community KOMPAS. Young people are particularly involved in this.
In the second phase of the project, six more villages are to be brought on board: three in Tanjung Jabung Barat and three in Tebo. The project will additionally strengthen KOMPAS.
Oil palm smallholders use regenerative agriculture methods
As part of phase one, 536 RSPO-certified smallholders received training on regenerative agriculture practices – focus: soil fertility. There they learned, for example, how to replace conventional fertilisers with organic ones. Instead of buying expensive chemicals, they can use materials that are often already available locally, such as goat urine or empty fruit bunches. This improves soil fertility and, in the long term, the growth of the palms and ultimately the yields. Smallholders put the concepts into practice on demonstration plantations.
In the second phase of the project, the training continues: in addition to smallholders in Tanjung Jabung Barat, 200 producers in Tebo will receive training.
Project partners collect GPS data
Currently, Setara Jambi is collecting information about growers in their project regions. However, the tools for analysis are lacking. To change this, during phase two the project is bringing Koltiva on board, a partner from the completed member project in Malaysia. Using the GDPR-compliant KoltiTrace system, the project is collecting GPS data from smallholders. This not only helps in the planning of future interventions, but also simplifies the traceability of the palm oil produced. This is an important prerequisite for compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and thus market access in Europe.
The second phase is due to be completed in September 2024.
Cover image: © FONAP / FORTASBI