Managing Sustainable Oil Palm Plantations
Asian Agri has 30 oil palm plantations located in the provinces of Riau, Jambi and North Sumatra totaling 100,000 hectares. The company also partners Plasma scheme and independent smallholders who respectively manage 60,000 ha and more than 41,500 ha of estates. With the first estate dating back to more than 33 years ago, Asian Agri has developed an integrated strategy aimed at producing and processing palm oil products, by taking advantage of a wide range of natural conditions that make Indonesia one of the most ideal palm oil producing regions in the world.
Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) are harvested 30 months after planting, depending on the variety of the oil palm. Yields typically increase sharply by the eighth year, stabilizing in the following five years. After the 15th year, the harvest will gradually decline, and after 25 years, oil palms trees enter their “replanting” period. Currently, some of our estates in North Sumatra are being replanted using mechanical equipment in accordance with our strict zero-burning policy.
As a company committed to traceable, responsible and sustainable production of palm oil, key aspect of our strategy is to also work with smallholders . In 1994, we implemented no burning policy across our operations and in 2016 co-founded the Fire Free Alliance (FFA) to work with peers and partners to tackle the issue of land and forest fires in Indonesia . Under the Fire Free Village program (FFVP), Asian Agri introduces sustainable practices to smallholder and villagers which bring positive impact on their quality of life and economic development.
