Over the past 12 months, the Smallholder Inclusion for better Livelihood & Empowerment (SMILE) program has made steady progress in building a more sustainable palm oil value chain. In recognizing the challenges faced by independent smallholders to increase their yield and productivity, to date, the SMILE program has provided training and workshops to approximately 600 farmers.
Apart from educating farmers on how to improve their yields and sustainably manage their farms, the training and workshops also focused on the importance of staying committed to sustainable practices such as no-deforestation and zero-burning, no exploitation.
Among the other activities that are in progress under Phase 1 of the program are:
- Development and support of procedures required for RSPO;
- Workshops and trainings for various smallholder groups;
- Completed polygon mapping for smallholder estates;
- Gap analysis by consultants; and
- Conduct training on how to implement robust safety measures across their estates to farmers.
Apart from the above, progress for the village cooperatives (“Koperasi Unit Desa” or “KUD”) under Phase 1 (2020 – 2025) will be monitored for the upcoming audit and, the preparation of RSPO certification for KUDs under Phase 2 (2022 – 2027) will begin.
To ensure the successful implementation and execution of initiatives under the SMILE program, the initiative, led by Kao Corporation, Apical Group, and Asian Agri will continue to engage with various stakeholders, including NGOs, NPOs and community leaders to build an environmentally-friendly and socially-aware supply chain.
