Asian Agri, which has a plantation area in Jambi, has taken proactive measures in anticipation of potential haze disturbance during the 2018 Asian Games which will be hosted in Jakarta and Palembang (South Sumatra) in August.
Asian Agri has lent its support to the event by successfully suppressing the number of forest fires in seven villages in Jambi, through its Fire-Free Village Program.
The seven villages are Lubuk, Bernai, Lubuk Lawas, Tuo Sumay, Teriti, Muara Sekalo, Suo Suo and Semambu.
These villages had fires in up to 346 hectares of land from June 2016 to June 2017.
However, Zulbahri, Asian Agri Sustainability Operations Manager, said the fires were successfully reduced significantly in the next period.
“During this time, the fire prevention efforts through the Fire-Free Village Program in Jambi have proven effective, resulting in only 11 hectares of burned land from June 2017 to June 2018,” said Zulbahri.
This year, Asian Agri will again partner with 16 villages in Riau and Jambi for its Fire Free Village Program. Several villages in the Riau province have now succeeded in becoming villages with zero incidents of forest and land fires for two consecutive years.
