Riau, 24 April 2020 – As part of its efforts to contribute to the fight against COVID-19, Asian Agri recently collaborated with community-based tailors to produce 7,650 cloth face masks that were distributed to 19 villages in Pelalawan and Siak Regencies in Riau Province.
Sri Wahyuni, owner of the Ayu Melati Tailor business in Makmur Village, Pangkalan Kerinci, Pelalawan Regency, Riau, is one of the villagers who accepted the company’s request for cloth face masks in March.
Born in Lubuk Pakam half a century ago, Sri was given an order of 6,050 cloth face masks. This greatly helped provide work for her family and the four people employed by her small enterprise.
Ordinarily around this time, Sri gets a lot of orders to sew clothes in preparation for Lebaran. But given the COVID-19 pandemic, she admitted that the situation had become dire. Several key customers did not place their orders and almost everyone were adjusting their budgets to prioritise medical expenses and procurement of basic necessities.
“Given the crisis, it is all the more important for the wheels of our sewing machines to keep on turning so that our workers may continue to earn their salaries,” Sri said while supervising her workers who were working on the latest batch of face masks.
Asian Agri’s Head of Operation Omri Samosir said, “Face mask donations to villages is aligned with the Government’s call for all citizens to wear masks when they leave their houses to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19. We are privileged that this has also enabled us to help small and local enterprises such as the one run by Sri Wahyuni.”
The ten villages in Siak Regency that received face mask assistance from Asian Agri were: Delima Jaya, Buana Bhakti, Bukit Harapan, Kumbara Utama, Bukit Agung, Simpang Perak Jaya, Join Makmur, Jati Mulya, Made New, Buana Makmur, Suka Mulia and Kerinci Right. Seven villages in Pelalawan Regency that received the face masks were: Mekar Jaya, Makmur, Delik, Lalang Kabung, Rantau Baru, Lubuk Ogung and Kiyap Jaya. Asian Agri, together with sub-district officials and the police and military, also distributed face masks to the people in the Rantau Baru area, Riau.
CSR Head Welly Perdede explained that that Asian Agri will also be donating around 5,000 packages of basic food assistance during the fasting month of Ramadan to communities in the company’s operational areas in the provinces of North Sumatra, Riau and Jambi.
About Asian Agri:
Asian Agri is one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers since 1979. Today, the company manages 100,000 hectares of land and employs over 25,000 people. A pioneer of the Indonesian government’s Trans-National Government Migration (PIR-Trans) program, Asian Agri works with 30,000 plasma smallholders in Riau and Jambi who operate 60,000 hectares of palm oil plantations, as well as independent smallholders, bringing about positive impact on their quality of life and economic development.
Implementing a strict “no burn” policy and best practices in sustainable plantation management, Asian Agri has helped its smallholder partners improve productivity, yield and supply chain traceability, while assisting them obtain certifications. The company’s mills are technologically advanced and energy self-sufficient, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
Asian Agri is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). More than 86% of both owned plantations in North Sumatra, Riau & Jambi provinces and 100% of scheme smallholder plantations in Riau & Jambi provinces have been RSPO certified. All plantations, including those owned by smallholders, have been certified by ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification). The company has also been 100% ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certified.
The company’s operations are ISO 14001 certified, while its Learning Institute and nursery research center in Riau province, Indonesia are both ISO 9001 certified. Asian Agri’s R&D Center in North Sumatra was also given a certification by the International Plant-Analytical Exchange at the WEPAL lab at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, for its high standards.
For further information, please contact:
Maria Sidabutar
Head Corporate Communications
E-mail: maria_sidabutar@www.asianagri.com
DID: +62 21 2301 119
