Siak, 23 June 2021 – To help fight the spread of COVID-19, Asian Agri held a free health check-up for residents in Katipo Puro Village, Peranap District, Indragiri Hulu Regency. A collaboration between the Peranap District Public Health Center and Asian Agri business unit PT Rigunas Agri Utama (PT RAU), the health check-up benefitted 105 adults and 17 children.
“We remain concerned with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on rural communities. We are grateful to be working with the Peranap Public Health Center to provide free health check-up for residents. We will continue to implement our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in line with health and safety protocols,” said PKS Manager PT RAU, P. Sipahutar.
“We hope the community will continue to follow all applicable health protocols when carrying out their daily activities and also follow the government advisories. At the same time, it is important to continuously improve our health by eating nutritious food regularly and taking vitamins,” Mr. P. Sipahutar added.
The event was held on June 10, 2021, and was attended by village officials, community leaders, and local traditional leaders.
The Head of Katipo Puro Village, Rico May Putra, expressed his gratitude towards Asian Agri for its CSR efforts and impact on the community. He also hoped that PT RAU will continue to help Katipo Puro Village.
“We really appreciate the free medical check-up program organized by PT RAU (Asian Agri). This activity clearly demonstrates the company’s care of the health of residents and it has provided many benefits to the community. Being a free check-up, it helps ease the financial burden of the community, especially during these challenging times,” said Rico May Putra.
“We hope that such Asian Agri’s CSR activities will continue because of their benefit to our community. In our village, there are still many roads that are not in proper condition, many places of worship requiring repair, and the community could benefit further from more social activities. Hopefully these areas can also be addressed with the help of the company’s CSR program,” he added.
Public Relations of PT RAU, Doni Zendrato shared that the business unit implements various CSR activities to improve the welfare of residents. The business unit’s CSR activities are part of Asian Agri’s mission to create shared value of its stakeholders. Asian Agri is part of the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) global group of companies.
“Our CSR programs cover a broad range of activities, such as repairing of roads, renovation of the places of worship, support of religious activities and others. This time, it is in the form of a health check-up in collaboration with the local Public Health Center. We hope that public health can be maintained in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Doni, who was accompanied by Dr. Yosi, a representative of the Peranap Public Health Center.
Dr. Yosi expressed appreciation for the free medical check-up program. He said: “There were more than 100 people who came for the check-up, showing how very beneficial the program is to the community. The government has made great effort in improving public health by implementing many programs, and this CSR activity by PT RAU is well in line with those efforts.”
“Health remains the most important and expensive need. We take this opportunity to also urge the community to always maintain good health, by having a healthy diet, observing good personal hygiene, and always report symptoms to health workers. To be stronger, we will need continuous collaboration between public health officials, the village government, community leaders, religious leaders, and private companies,” he said.
About Asian Agri:
Asian Agri is one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers. Founded in 1979, the company today manages 100,000 hectares of plantation land and employs over 25,000 people. A pioneer of the Indonesian government’s Trans-National Government Migration (PIR-Trans) program, Asian Agri currently works with 30,000 Plasma Scheme smallholders in Riau and Jambi who operate 60,000 hectares of palm oil plantations, and independent smallholders who manage a total 41,000 hectares.
Implementing a strict “no burn” policy since 1994 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 (PT Inti Indosawit Subur) is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2006. More than 86% of its owned plantations in North Sumatra, Riau & Jambi provinces and 100% of Plasma Scheme smallholder plantations in Riau & Jambi provinces have been RSPO certified. All its owned plantations and those owned by scheme smallholders ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) certified since 2014. In 2019, the company also achieved 100% ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification.
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 laboratory at the Center for Research and Development in Tebing Tinggi is accredited by the National Accreditation Committee under the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA).
Lidya Veronica
Media Relations
E-mail: lidya_veronika@www.asianagri.com
