Pelalawan, 16 October 2024 – Asian Agri, through one of its business units, PT Inti Indosawit Subur – Kebun Ukui (PT IIS-Ukui), provided educational and alternative economic assistance packages to the Village Office of Air Emas, located in Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency, Riau on October 15 2024. This activity was a manifestation of Asian Agri’s 2030 sustainability commitment.
The event was opened by Ukui District Head, Joko Hadi Syaifudin Zuhri, who expressed his appreciation to PT IIS-Ukui for the provision of educational and alternative economic assistance packages. “Thank you to the company for caring about our community, especially those in Air Emas Village and Kampung Baru Village. The assistance provided is in line with the government’s program to improve the quality of education and food security.”
Joko also stated, “We are confident that the school supplies will help motivate students to continue learning, especially since the beneficiaries are underprivileged children. This will be a great help to parents in terms of financing. Furthermore, the cultivation of grapes and goat farming will undoubtedly benefit farming groups, families, and the village government. We hope that with these new economic pockets at the village level, there will be a positive impact on improving the standard of living of the village community.”
On this occasion, 24 educational packages were distributed through the Bag-To-School program, with 10 packages for elementary school students, 8 packages for junior high school students, and 6 packages for senior high school students. The educational packages provided by Asian Agri include school bags, stationery, and notebooks. This program received special appreciation from the District Education Office Coordinator for Ukui District, Narko, who was present at the event.
“Education is a very important aspect in building the next generation of leaders. This requires the involvement of various parties, so we would like to thank PT IIS-Ukui for their contribution to our students. We hope that there will be more activities like this, especially for high-achieving students.”
In addition to providing educational packages through the Bag-To-School program, Asian Agri also provided training for the development of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by conducting entrepreneurship workshops, teaching how to find commodities that suit the market and providing knowledge about business strategies to 2 villages. Specifically, 30 grape seedlings along with compost and NPK fertilizers, also a trellis were provided for Air Emas Village, and 5 goats were provided for Kampung Baru Village, located in Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency, Riau.
Meanwhile, Asian Agri’s Regional Head Plantation Riau, Pengarapen Gurusinga, stated that the event was a series of events to realize Asian Agri’s 2030 vision.
“Since 2022, Asian Agri has launched a sustainability vision in the Asian Agri 2030 program, which aims to generate positive value for smallholders, communities, and the environment through business excellence based on a strong commitment to sustainability. Asian Agri itself has a philosophy that is upheld by all members of the company family, namely 5C, where all of our activities must be able to generate benefits, one of which is for the surrounding community,” said Pengarapen at the opening of the event.
Asian Agri 2030 has four supporting pillars, one of which is the second pillar, namely, “Inclusive Growth”. Asian Agri wants to encourage strong participation to achieve the best quality of life by assisting in improving and increasing economic and educational sectors.
The provision of educational and alternative economic assistance packages is one of the targets of Asian Agri 2030, which is included in the second pillar, with the target of helping to develop MSMEs and also providing school supplies for students through the Bag-To-School program until 2030.
Furthermore, one of the beneficiaries from Air Emas Village, Musrizal, said, “We are very happy with this assistance because we have long been hoping for grape cultivation. We will plant these grapes in the agro-tourism area of Air Emas Village. We will cultivate them collectively under the guidance of the village government, so we are confident that these grapes will be successful. Grapes are still rare in our village, so if this is successful, it will certainly be a pride for our group and can also become a tourist destination in our village.”
About Asian Agri
Asian Agri is one of Indonesia’s leading national private companies producing crude palm oil (CPO) since 1979. To date, Asian Agri manages 100,000 hectares of oil palm plantations and employs over 20,000 people.
As a pioneer of the Indonesian Government’s Smallholder Transmigration Core Plantation Program (PIR-Trans), Asian Agri has partnered with 30,000 plasma smallholders in Riau and Jambi who manage 60,000 hectares of oil palm plantations. Additionally, the company fosters partnerships with independent smallholders to bring positive impacts on their welfare and economic improvement.
By implementing a zero-burning policy and sustainable plantation management practices, Asian Agri helps smallholders increase productivity, crop yields, and supply chain traceability and supports them in obtaining certifications. Asian Agri’s factories utilize state-of-the-art technology harnessing self-generated green energy to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
All business units under the umbrella of Asian Agri have obtained ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification. Currently, Asian Agri’s core plantations in North Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi provinces, as well as plasma smallholder plantations in Riau and Jambi provinces, are 100% RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certified. Simultaneously, ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) has been achieved for all plantations owned by Asian Agri and its partner farmers.
Asian Agri’s success as one of the leading CPO producers has been internationally recognized with ISO 14001 certification for all its operations. The Learning Institute in Pelalawan, Riau, and the seedling center in Kampar, Riau, are also ISO 9001 certified. Furthermore, Asian Agri’s research and development center in Tebing Tinggi has been certified by the International Plant-Analytical Exchange at the WEPAL lab at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, ensuring high standards.
For further information, please contact:
Lidya Veronica, Media Relation Asian Agri
E-mail: lidya_veronica@asianagri.com
