32 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
More Than 750 ISPO Certificates Issued for Producers as of Last Year According to Didi Junaedi, the director for processing and marketing of plantation products at the Agriculture Ministry, 735 of those certificates were for corporate entities. “There are also 20 ISPO certificates for smallholders, although it was previously voluntary,” Didi said at an online discussion.
An aerial view shows an oil palm plantation in Bulutumbang, Belitung, in August 2020. The government is issuing Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificates for more and more oil palm plantations across the country, but the certificate is not recognized by the European Union. (JP/Donny Fernando)
More than 750 Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificates have been issued as of last year, but the vast majority are for private corporations and state-owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN), while smallholders remain largely uncertified. ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | Jul-Sept 2021
Through the issuance of the certificates, the government seeks to address global concerns over deforestation in crude palm oil (CPO) production. Presidential Regulation No. 44 of 2020 requires smallholders to get ISPO certificates no later than 2025. For companies, the obligation under the presidential regulation took effect immediately after it was issued. The government has been seeking to counter what it calls a campaign against Indonesian CPO over alleged environmental damage, especially from the European Union, one of the country’s major trading partners. However, the EU does not recognize the ISPO certificate. More than one-third of the 16.38 million hectares of oil palm plantations across the country are now certified, according to Rusman Heriawan, an advisor of the National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil Forum.
