SEA OIC

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How might a palm oil ecosystem platform provide visibility of programmes that benefit smallholder farmers, so that they can be well-supported by downstream stakeholders and encourage collaborations between them?

Background/Context

The palm oil ecosystem has many stakeholders: from smallholder farmers and plantations, to the mill owners and processors, to the off-takers (buyers of the refined product; for example, global consumer goods companies).

Smallholder farmers have a need for training in agronomy best practices and the processes to obtain sustainability certifications. There exists on-the-ground programmes designed to improve yields and sustainability of the smallholder farmers’ practices, and in turn their livelihoods. These are typically sponsored or executed by a range of stakeholders in this ecosystem, including Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and the off-takers. One such example is the SMILE (Smallholder Inclusion for better Livelihood & Empowerment) programme that Apical, one of Indonesia’s largest processors and exporters of palm oil and its derivatives, is part of.

Generally, it is challenging for the off-takers to directly invest in these programmes in the field, and to have visibility of their support for the farmers. As a result, it is difficult for them as well as financial institutions to track progress and measure the impact of these programmes being invested in.

Objective

How might a palm oil ecosystem platform provide visibility of programmes that benefit smallholder farmers, so that they can be well-supported by downstream stakeholders, such as off-takers and financial institutions, and encourage collaborations between them?

Solution

Apical is looking for a platform solution that integrates with a “social impact credit” system, which:

Allows producers and palm oil mills to register their smallholder programmes and relevant details.
Showcase registered programmes, each with a programme description, a description of its impact (and associated social impact credit), current status, KPIs, etc. for interested parties, such as off-takers and financial institutions.
Allows interested parties to select programmes that they would like to join or partner with, or invest in.
Displays a progress dashboard for participating parties on programme’s progress on KPIs, which in turn can be used for communications and measuring (and claiming) impact.

An NGO or accreditation organisation already experienced in the palm oil ecosystem will establish the credit system (for example, ascertain the value of each credit and how the credits are issued).

The solution provider may propose a method to record data associated with the programmes, including corporate contributions and sustainability-related outcomes; validate and/or trace all activities on the platform. This could be blockchain-enabled.

Additional Information

This platform will enable the corporations, especially the off-takers and financial institutions, to discover opportunities to invest in worthy programmes and even to collaborate with other organisations to create more impact. With the social impact credit system, they have a means to track and measure the impact of their support for smallholder farmers to become more sustainable. The farmers benefit from the sustainability and certification programmes, and ultimately, improve their livelihoods.

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