Our Values
Asian Agri operates on the 5C’s philosophy that we must always create value for the community, country, climate, customer and company. The 5C’s philosophy steers our continuous creation of shared value for our stakeholders as we collectively strive towards sustainable outcomes. We create shared value mainly through our committed partnership and support of Plasma scheme and independent smallholders.
As one of the pioneers of the smallholder partnership scheme in Indonesia, Asian Agri today works with 30,000 smallholders representing 101.500 hectares of smallholder plantations. Possessing the scale, capacity, knowledge and experience essential to establishing strong and mutually beneficial working relationships with oil palm smallholders, we continuously seek to raise the capabilities of smallholders while uplifting the lives of their communities.
Obtaining certification
We support the certification of smallholders by engaging smallholder cooperatives and providing smallholders with the necessary training in plantation management. With certification, smallholders gain greater market access and opportunities to earn higher premiums from the fresh fruit bunch sales. Apart from contributing to the nation’s sustainable palm oil supply chain, certified smallholders also play a pivotal role in safeguarding the environment.
Improved capabilities
We collaborate with smallholder cooperatives to provide agronomic training, equipment and high-yielding quality Topaz seeds to smallholders, so they can achieve higher plantation productivity. We also provide guidance on the formation of cooperatives among independent smallholders to foster a sense of community, raise agronomic standards and support collective bargaining in their interest.
From Estate to High Quality Products
Our owned and partnered plantations employ environmentally friendly plantation management best practices. In line with Asian Agri’s strict no-burn policy, all owned and partnered plantations are cleared by mechanical means. Plantation managers and partnered smallholders also use integrated pest management solutions such as the nature-based solution of rearing natural predators of pests, minimizing dependence on chemical pesticides.
Alternate income sources
Asian Agri provides assistance and training for partnered smallholder communities to develop new income streams through setting up small enterprises, livestock rearing and cultivation of vegetable crops. These support self-reliance and self-sufficiency among smallholder communities, and provide alternative incomes as farmers wait for trees to grow during the replanting phase.
Uplift the communities
Asian Agri surveys and works with the communities near our operations to improve the quality of basic education and also fight stunting. We adapt our community development programs to the needs of each community.
Smallholder cooperatives
By forming cooperatives smallholders can share knowledge, skills and equipment: something Asian Agri works hard to support. In 2013 we helped Amanah Association, a cooperative of 349 smallholders, become the first such group in Indonesia to earn certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Training and equipment
Increasing efficiency is key to raising yields and improving the economy of local communities. Through improved management, instruction in farming best practices, and the provision of higher yielding seeds, Asian Agri continues to work with independent smallholders to help them perform more effectively.