Kompas, 5 November 2018
The Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) in Bali last weekend revealed that the sustainability of palm oil industry is related to the fact that the world will continue to need crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives. Indonesia, the world’s largest CPO producer, is predicted to keep increasing its production to fulfill global needs. Indonesia was able to produce 30.67 million metric tons CPO and its derivatives from January to August 2018. The figure most likely won’t go up significantly this year, following a relatively low CPO price which reduces incentives for farmers to increase production.
Data shows that smallholder farmers manage 5.61 million hectares or 40% of total 14.03 million hectares of oil palm plantations. Thus, smallholder farmers must be supported by legal certainty, which will help them obtain funds for replanting or Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification.