FORTASBI

FORTASBI was formed by an Indonesian independent smallholder group in 2014. To date, the members continue to increase as more independent smallholders commit to implementing sustainable palm oil through the RSPO scheme. As of 2022, there are 47 independent smallholder groups, including 12,641 independent smallholders managing a total of 29,639 hectares. All groups are certified, and some of them are still in the preparation for the audit process. From all land, independent smallholders produce approximately 504,769 tonnes of RSPO Certified FFB annually with an annual volume of RSPOCertified CPO of 100,954 MT and PKO of 10,222 MT.

FORTASBI as a service-based organisation for members, has the following responsibilities: Increase the capacity of knowledge, production, and livelihoods of independent smallholders; Connecting smallholders with market and spread good stories from the field; Support members to manage RSPO and ISPO certificates; Accelerate the implementation of sustainable palm oil standards (ISPO and RSPO); Expanding the impact of certification in terms of education, health, wellbeing, protection and inclusion)

Capacity Building

Training

Certification and Related Assessments

Others

Unilever, IDH, RSPO, Packard, FONAP, Asian Agri, Cargill.

1. Certification Program Support for Independent Smallholders FORTASBI is the home for sustainable independent oil palm smallholders in Indonesia. Based on the latest data, there are 2.4 million independent smallholders who manage 6.72 million hectares, or around 41% of the total oil palm plantations in Indonesia. However, the level of certification of independent smallholders in Indonesia is still low, it is estimated that only around 15,000 smallholders are RSPO certified. Therefore, FORTASBI encourages collaborative support between parties to continue to support independent smallholders so they can apply good agricultural practices and are ready to become part of a certification scheme. To realize this action, financial support for independent smallholder’s certification program is needed. Certification costs include: capacity building training, certification administrative costs, to the cost of their first audit. Currently FORTASBI is paving the way and reaching a number of locations that do not yet have RSPO and ISPO certified independent smallholders, the locations are in West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung, Riau Islands, South Kalimantan and North Kalimantan. The priority districts are in Subulussalam Aceh City, Pesisir Selatan Regency, West Pasaman Regency, Muko-Muko Regency, North Bengkulu Regency, Barito Kuala Regency, Batu Licin, Berau Regency, Landak Regency and Kapuas Hulu Regency. Based on the identification results that have been carried out in these locations, FORTASBI noted that there are 4,880 independent smallholders who could potentially enter the certification scheme. 2. Buyer Support to Absorb RSPO Independent Smallholder Credit Not only making independent smallholders’ part of sustainable development in Indonesia, sustainability support is also needed so that smallholders can increase their capacity and develop their institutions. One of the supports that we believe can have a sustainable impact on them is the availability of market access that can support the sale of RSPO Credit. Buyer support for the RSPO Credit will be used by independent smallholders to increase the empowerment of their groups and village communities. In FORTASBI, we introduce 'Smallholder Social Responsibility', an initiative by each group to provide various social benefits, ranging from improving the environment, supporting women's empowerment, access to health, and scholarship assistance for school-age children. As of December 2022, 134 buyers from around the world have supported FORTASBI's independent smallholder members through the purchase of RSPO Credits, with transactions reaching USD 2.7 million. However, until today, the sale of RSPO Credit cannot be said to be optimal, because there are still 18,406 IS-CSPO that have not been absorbed. On the other hand, we are grateful for the support that has been given by dedicated buyers, but we are also very open and will continue to receive as wide as possible opportunities for cooperation with new buyers. From FORTASBI data, buyers of RSPO Credit have so far been dominated by the European market, while we see potential from the Asian region such as China and Japan. We believe that independent smallholders are one of the best agents of change in their respective villages, so the support provided will not stop at group development, but will return to the village itself.