Heaptalk, Jakarta – Amidst the trend of achieving the target of Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), a behemoth palm oil company Musim Mas carry out Biodiverse and Inclusive Palm Oil Supply Chain (BIPOSC) program to embody a sustainable palm oil industry.
BIPOSC is a program that adopts a regenerative plantation model, an approach to nurturing and restoring soil health as the entry point to regenerate and contribute to the palm ecosystem. In this non-profit project, Musim Mas has cooperated with multiple stakeholders, including Livelihoods Funds for Family Farming (L3F), SNV Indonesia, and ICRAF. Through this measure, the healthy soil is expected to increase crop yields sustainably and mitigate deforestation.
During the press conference, Musim Mas explained that the program has been started since 2021. The tangible implementation also has been carried out to independent growers in Labuhanbatu, North Sumatera by collaborating with Association of Palm Plantation Independent Growers in Labuhanbatu (APSKS LB).
“For Musim Mas, independent grower is the key to achieving a better sustainable palm oil industry. We believe that the collaboration with numerous parties will multiply the positive impact. The collaboration with L3F, SNV Indonesia, and ICRAF is expected to increase the capacity of independent growers, specifically their capability to maintain their land and provide alternative income to achieve sustainability in the palm oil supply chain,” stated Rob Nicholls, General Manager Project and Program of Musim Mas Group on the press conference (10/17).
As cited from Musim Mas official release, the number of independent growers reached 41% of the total of oil palm plantations in 2023. This number is forecasted to grow to 60% in 2030. For this reason, the enhancement of independent growers’ capacity through BIPOSC is considered as a crucial step to prepare the future of sustainable palm oil industry.
BIPOSC is conducted through Best Management Practice (BMP), namely regenerative plantation, such as bio input, mulching technique, cover crop, integrated pest control, and applying compost.
BIPOSC also plays a critical role in enhancing institutions capacity. A composting unit with the capacity of 100 to 150 tonnes/month has been established and directly managed by APSKS LB. The infrastructure produced 588 tonnes of compost in 2023, which is priced at half of the market price.
To support the program, Musim Mas has contributed over USD1 million for 6 years (the implementation period) and 4 years (monitoring period).
“We contributed over USD1 million for 6 years implementation, we monitor this, then in the next 4 years, if there are other necessities, we can add some more,” conveyed Rob.
In addition to implementing BIPOSC, Musim Mas has trained about 1,097 independent growers with a total plantation area reaching 1,954.41 hectares.
