Moving forward together

WILMAR International-owned PPB Oil Palms Berhad’s Sapi estate and mill have been around in Kg Toniting area in Sabah’s Beluran district since 1987. Because of the mill’s proximity to the farms, the independent smallholders send their crops to Sapi mill, PPB’s RSPO/Sustainability Senior Manager Edrin Moss explained. Some farmers send their crops to collection centres or cash agents because the mill only gives out monthly payments.

“We invite them to our yearly stakeholder meetings but they are free to drop in our office anytime to discuss issues or seek advice,” says Moss who helps the plantation and mill implement sustainable practices.

“They’re sort of our watchdogs, too. For example, if there’s an environmental non-compliance (issue) that affects their livelihood, they will come to us and ask us to act upon it.”

Wilmar had planned to help the smallholders obtain RSPO certification but due to the lack of resources, they never got round to it.

“In the future, we will have a segregation model, meaning the oil we process in this mill can be declared certified oil. But we can only achieve that if all our suppliers: smallholders and out growers (small producers) are certified.”

So when Wild Asia came in and introduced Wags (Wild Asia Group Scheme), Wilmar was more than happy to support the scheme.

“We feel that Wags is helping us,” Moss explains. Wilmar provides room and board to Wild Asia’s visiting staff and subsidise the rental for Wags’ office in Toniting. Since Wags’ arrival, Moss has seen the changes in the smallholders’ farming and business practices, and their attitude.

“They are managing their farms and businesses more responsibly, they know their rights and where they stand,” says Moss. “For example, they’d come to us and ask: ‘now that we’re certified, can we get some assistance for this matter?’ ”

“They also talk about their responsibility to protect the environment,” he adds.

Unlike before, the Wags farmers, as they’re called in Toniting, now only send good-quality crops to the mill.

“They feel that they have to be better than the non-certified farmers,” says Moss.

In April, Wilmar signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Wild Asia to assist in training and to provide support for the smallholders.

“In short, we will provide Wags members technical agronomic support, help Wild Asia with the monitoring systems and offer financial incentives for certified Wags members who send their crops to us,” says Moss. In other words, certified farmers will finally earn a higher premium for their crops. In July, Wilmar hired a dedicated staff to focus on helping other smallholders to meet certification and to complement and support Wags.

“Some farmers are stuck in their old ways but I’m seeing more and more farmers changing their mindsets.” He sums up: “Slowly but surely, they are moving forward sustainably.”