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Davos-Klosters,
Switzerland. Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers, is
spearheading new models of sustainable agriculture in the country in
partnership with global giants such as Nestle.
 |
| Palm Oil Factory |
Speaking to
the Jakarta Globe, Franky Widjaja, chief executive of Sinarmas Agribusiness,
said sustainability was near the top of the agenda at the World Economic
Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.
Widjaja is
co-chairman of a new initiative, Partnership on Indonesian Sustainable
Agriculture, which has as its goal improving productivity by 20 percent while
reducing poverty and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent.
“We have to
learn together to ensure sustainable agriculture, he said. “This is a
multi-stakeholder partnership that includes the government, the private sector,
small farmers and civil society.”
In the
program, Widjaja will represent the private sector while Trade Minister Gita
Wirjawan will represent the government. Some 43 industry leaders from across
the world are participating in the initiative, which was first launched three
years ago.
The latest
initiative coincides with the Jakarta Food Security Summit, scheduled to be
held in the Indonesian capital in mid-February.
“The
message we need to communicate is that we must address the right issues rather
than attack the palm oil industry in general,” Widjaja said. “We must segregate
the issues so we do not hurt small farmers and our exports.”
He
estimated that of the 7.5 million hectares under palm oil cultivation, 43
percent is farmed by small holders. While many of these small farmers practice
sustainable agriculture, he continued, a majority of them do not.
“Not only
is their yield low, they do not understand the whole notion of sustainability,”
he said. “It is our job to educate them.”
Arne
Cartridge, special advisor at the Global Partnerships for Food Security at the
WEF, said the main issue for countries such as Indonesia was to boost food
exports while ensuring that local people had enough food.
“For
Indonesia, the challenge is how does it use palm oil as a competitive advantage
while ensuring environmental sustainability,” he said. That includes helping
the agriculture sector to adapt to climate change by reducing deforestation.
Cartridge
noted that there were land areas in the country that could be utilized for
agriculture, but it needed to sort out the land rights issue first.
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