North Sumatera, 20 December 2017 – Asian Agri has strengthened its partnerships with the community with the launch of the Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program at SMKN 1 Silangkitang in the Labuhan Batu Selatan Regency in North Sumatra today.
This marks the first time that the program (aimed at educating students to better manage palm oil plantations sustainably) has been adopted in the North Sumatra Province.
Labuhan Batu Selatan Vice-Regent Drs. Kholil Jufri Harapan attended the opening of the program and said: “North Sumatra, particularly the Labuhan Batu Selatan Regency, has great potential for palm oil plantations due to its large farming land area.
“We hope that that Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program will see knowledge transfer to the community, particularly to the younger generation to manage this commodity in the best way.”
The Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program is part of Asian Agri’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs conducted within the education sector, in collaboration with formal education institutions and local governments to improve students’ (and their parents’) expertise in sustainable palm oil management.
The program equips students with theoretical and practical knowledge about palm oil management, beginning with the preparation stage, seed planting and plant maintenance, to the best ways to harvest palm to maximize obtainable yields as well as how to overcome harmful plant diseases.
Prior to this, Asian Agri has launched the Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program at three schools in Jambi, and one in Riau.
“This first Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program in North Sumatra is part of Asian Agri’s commitment to support sustainable palm oil management at the national level.
“We are beginning with educating the community, particularly the younger generation, about how to recognize and understand the best practices in managing palm oil sustainably,” said Welly Pardede, Asian Agri Head of Sustainability Operations & CSR.
Apart from the Sekolah Sawit Lestari Program, Asian Agri also partners with independent smallholders in North Sumatra. This partnership program sees smallholders being similarly assisted to manage their plantations with sustainable practices.
The smallholders receive training on how to obtain maximum yields and maintain environment sustainability simultaneously.
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About Asian Agri:
Asian Agri is one of the leading private companies in Indonesia producing crude palm oil (CPO) since 1979 and employs around 25,000 people today. Since 1987, Asian Agri has been a pioneer of the Indonesian government’s Trans-National Government Migration (PIR-Trans) program. Today, the company manages 100,000 Ha of land and partners 29,000 smallholder families in Riau and Jambi who operate 60,000 Ha of palm oil plantation.
Asian Agri’s success in becoming one of the leading CPO companies has been acknowledged internationally with the ISO 14001 certification for all of its operations. Its Learning Institute in Pelalawan, Riau, as well as its nursery research center in Kampar, Riau are ISO 9001 certified. In addition, Asian Agri’s R&D Center in Tebing Tinggi has also obtained certification by the International Plant-Analytical Exchange at the WEPAL lab at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, for its high standards.
More than 86% of both owned plantations in North Sumatra, Riau & Jambi provinces & scheme smallholder plantations in Riau & Jambi provinces have been RSPO certified.
All plantations have also been ISCC-certified (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification), including plantation owned by smallholders. Palm oil mills and plantation in Buatan, Ukui, Soga, Tungkul Ulu, and Muara Bulian have been ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certified.
For further information, please contact:
| Maria Sidabutar |
| Head Corporate Communication |
| E-mail: Maria_Sidabutar@www.asianagri.com |
| DID: +62 21 2301 119 |
