Hello from Besitang, Indonesia

I had an opportunity to visit a non-RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certified Palm Oil Plantation in Besitang, Indonesia and met with the General Manager.  In the past few decades the world's demand and production of vegetable oils especially palm oil has risen.  Palm oil cultivation has increased mainly in Malaysia where palm trees can thrive and be productive.  This increasing demand has put pressure on the environment, the wildlife that inhabit these areas and the people and communities.  The RSPO is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2004, that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry including farmers, bankers and conservation groups to name a few.  The mission of the RSPO is "promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders".  Take a look at their website for more info by clicking here.

A non RSPO palm oil plantation.  Where did the rainforest go?

While we toured the non RSPO Palm Oil Plantation I learned a lot about the company, plantations and sustainable palm oil. 

The company was founded in 1995 and are smallholders because they rent their land (about 5,000 acres) from the Indonesian government.  The company was not aware of RSPO.   Panut Hadisiswoyo, founder and current director of the Orangutan Information Center (OIC), explained to us that RSPO is not recognized by the Indonesian Government.  Indonesia has their own organization for sustainable palm oil (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil, ISPO).  Until October of 2011 the ISPO was part of the RSPO, but after criticizing the RSPO for what they call being biased towards environmental groups they decided to sever ties with the RSPO.  Read this article about the ISPO leaving the RSPO.
The plantation destroyed about 135 acres of rainfroest in the Gunung Leuser National Park to build their palm oil plantation.  To lease their land from the government they utilize GPS's to measure how much land they are using.   The Manager added that they use the land and pay taxes on what they had cleared.
This company harvests their palm seeds and sells the seeds to a mill (Gaya Baru). 

A female employee getting ready to apply fertilizer.

Most palm oil companies hire both males and females.  One of the females responsibilities is the tough job of applying fertilizers around oil palm trees.  They carry about 176 pound  sacks of chemical/fertilizer in a powder form and spread it around the base of the oil palm trees.  In one days time they go through about ten bags of fertilizer.  If you do the math thats 1,760 pounds a day!  In this particular plantation I noticed they do not use any protective gear such gloves, boots or face masks.  It seems the daily interaction with these chemicals could be bad for the health of the animals.  Also the company was asked if they ever tested the local water quality to see if there is contamination of fertilizers into their water supply.  The company said no.

Employees at the plantation are seventy five percent local and others come from surrounding communities.  Workers at the plantation make about $130/month and about 67 pounds of rice.  In Indonesia rice is included in every meal - breakfast, lunch dinner.   The plantation provides houses for the employees and their families.  Most employees live in the plantation and their kids go to the local community school in Besitang.

In regards to wildlife and the environment, the manager and employees reported spotting wild elephants about every two months, and one orangutan in 2006.  They have been using fencing to prevent elephants from enterring the plantation.  Elephants can easily destroy palm trees and cost the farmers money.  Human-elephant conflicts can occur as well. 

When asked why the company started growing palm oil trees their response was, "to reduce the oil palm demand." 

Antonia