May 30, 2024

GGC-GIZ announce achievement of sustainable palm oil production

Activities, News and Events, SPOPP, Sustainable Palm Oil Production and Procurement

Story and Photos: Sustainable Palm Oil Production and Procurement Project /Agriculture and Food Cluster

Phang Nga, 30 May 2024 – Global Green Chemicals Public Company Limited (GGC) together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, palm oil mill partners and smallholder farmers have announced their joint achievement to upscale sustainable palm oil production and procurement standards.

The successful public-private partnership to enhance smallholder capacities in sustainable palm oil production was highlighted during the Sustainable Palm Oil Production and Procurement (SPOPP) project achievement and appreciation ceremony held at Avani+ Khao Lak, Phang Nga province.

Up to 60 participants from GGC, GIZ, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives – led by the Department of Agricultural Extension and the Department of Agriculture, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Thailand, and representatives of oil palm smallholders and oil mills attended the session to celebrate the completion of project implementation and showcase the achievement of RSPO certified smallholder groups.

The day-and-a-half programme and field visit also provided an opportunity to exchange information on the topic “Successful Pathways of Sustainable Palm Oil Production” with RSPO-certified smallholder groups, partner mills and GGC.

Mr Kridsada Prasertsuko, GGC Managing Director, gave the opening remarks, saying: “We’re proud of our partnership with GIZ, which has enabled the scaling up of sustainable palm oil production, and procurement activities, and allowed more oil palm smallholders to obtain RSPO certification while enhancing their market access in Thailand and globally.”

In 2022, GGC, GIZ together with palm oil mill operators and more than 1,000 oil palm smallholders throughout the project’s four pilot provinces of Krabi, Trang, Chumphon and Phang Nga signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at driving sustainable palm oil production and procurement, he said.

The majority of the palm oil plantations in Thailand are operated by smallholders. However, not many of them are able to produce oil palm to meet the RSPO standard, posing several sustainability challenges. Palm oil smallholders still have limited knowledge about sustainable farming practices and lack sufficient financial inputs and there is a need for agencies to support them in terms of budget and know-how so they can improve their farm management and livelihoods while upscaling product value to meet market demand in both the short and long terms.

Dr Kanokwan Saswattecha, Project Director, GIZ Thailand said: “The SPOPP project provides a platform for stakeholders including oil palm smallholders to play an active role in enhancing their capacities by utilising digital tools and resources to improve farming management, production standards and competitiveness.”

Over 1,000 oil palm smallholders participated in training sessions through the Thailand Oil Palm Smallholder Academy (TOPSA) and digital farm database management by using the “i-Palm” application throughout the two-year project implementation. A total of six smallholder groups completed the RSPO independent smallholder certification audit. Of the total, two groups achieved RSPO certification. This accomplishment unlocked the potential to generate 11,047 tons of RSPO-certified palm oil and 1,243 tons of traceable RSPO-certified palm kernel oil for the global market and overall sustainable palm oil production in Thailand, she said.

Mr Yutthana Charungkan, Group Manager of RSPO-Phang Nga Oil Palm Production Community Enterprise, shared his view on the community success to scale up sustainable palm oil production upstream. “It is challenging for oil palm smallholders to work individually to meet the RSPO certification requirements. A series of training sessions, modules and the data management system introduced by the SPOPP project enables farmers to work together as a group, broaden their knowledge and experience to strengthen our farming practices and group management to meet the RSPO standard. Now, we seek opportunities for carbon credits beyond the RSPO certification in the long run.” ■