5 March 2024
Johor Plantations Agrotech Center (JPAC) Visit.
Twenty four members of the CSS team participated in a visit to the Johor Plantations Agrotech Center (JPAC) to attend the Agronomy Research Trainer Training Program. The primary objective of this training was to gain insights into the current oil palm industry standards.
The day commenced with an on-site exploration of the replanting area, focusing on land preparation techniques such as pulverization and harrowing to manage rhinoceros beetle and Ganoderma.
Subsequently, the team toured the Agrotech Center, delving into topics like Agronomy, GIS, and drone technology. The itinerary continued with a visit to the Agronomy laboratory for sample testing, concluding with an exploration of oil palm plant breeding and tissue culture. We’re happy to share that the sessions saw active participation and questioning from the participants.
17 February 2024
CSS Independent Smallholder Association, PERTANIAGA, conducts 3rd AGM, receives USD31,320 for RSPO Premiums from P&G.
Pertubuhan Tani Niaga Lestari Negeri Johor, (PERTANIAGA), held its third Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Iskandar Puteri, Johor on Saturday, 17 February 2024. Attendees included 207 members, PERTANIAGA’s Board Members, Procter & Gamble (P&G) representatives Ng Jin Yong and Kuan-Chun Lee, and the ASB-CSS Team. PERTANIAGA notably was the First Independent Smallholders (ISH) Association to be certified with the RSPO Independent Smallholders Standard (RSPO-RISS) 2019 in Malaysia.
At the event, P&G handed over a cheque of RM145,046.06 to the PERTANIAGA Chairman, representing purchase of RSPO Premiums for PERTANIAGA’s Independent Smallholder Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (IS-CSPO) and Independent Smallholder Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel Oil (IS-CSPKO) for the period September 2022-August 2023, with a total value of USD 31,320.00. CSS has been continuously increasing the number of certified farms from 107 in 2022 to 407 as of today. For 2024, CSS estimates PERTANIAGA to receive another USD 40,000/- in premium through sale of IS-CSPKO and IS-CSPO making it a cumulative of circa USD 85,000/- over a period of four years, which is disbursed 100% to the farmers.
5 - 6 February 2024
Johor Plantations Agrotech Center (JPAC) Visit.
33 smallholder farmers from the Parit Raja Farmers Association (PPK) of Batu Pahat, Johor, recently completed a two-day study tour of the Tun Razak Agriculture Research Center in Tekam, Jerantut, Pahang.
During the visit, PPK Parit Raja’s board of directors were warmly welcomed by their counterparts at PPK Termerloh, where both parties were very excited on this exchange of knowledge and learning opportunity.
The highlight of the visit was the farmers were offered to send sample fertilizers to the center for testing to determine the quality of the fertilizer’s contents and reduce the risk of using fake fertilizers.
This visit was conducted by the Center for Sustainable Small-owners, at the Asia School of Business by the Traceability and Verification team. It is hoped that the sharing of knowledge gained from the visit will give valuable insights and takeaways towards greater livelihood improvements for farmers in Parit Raja.
23 October 2023
The Centre for Sustainable Small-owners (CSS) delivered training on establishing sustainable practices for the oil palm production eco-system under Pengurusan Pertubuhan Peladang (Farmer Association) Parit Raja, Johor.
This training focused on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Oil Extraction Rate (OER) enhancement.
Led by the Unit Head of the farmer association for Parit Tengah (PPKPT) a total of 74 independent smallholders consisting of 28 existing members and 46 new members from the Smallholder Association of Parit Raja joined the training. This included 42 male and 32 female farmers.
This training was possible with help from the CSS Ambassador farmers who continue to represent CSS and showcase our program across villages and small farmers communities.
13 September 2023
The CSS Project Site was visited by FGV Sustainability Unit, led by Nurul Hasanah Ahamed, FGV Head for Group Sustainability Division.
“I witnessed the program’s success firsthand. We were aware of it since small holders had shared their experience with us a few years back.Thank you so much for the trip and we hope to benefit from your excellent work.” Nurul concluded at the visit.
FGV owns 67 mills across Malaysia, processing over 14 million MT of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) annually, where two-thirds of the FFB are sourced from FELDA settlers and independent smallholders. CSS is looking for ways to help the independent smallholders supplying to FGV Mills. P&G ESG Sustainability Directors, Francis Weiderkehr based at Geneva and Girish Deshpande from P&G UK, Senior Director Eugene Han and Dr. Kuan-Chun Lee, Principal Scientist from P&G Singapore also joined the site visit. They attended the training session conducted by CSS at the invitation of YB Puan Nur Rashidah Haji Ramli, Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Kawasan Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor.
16 August 2023
The P&G Center for Sustainable Small-owners (CSS) team met the Johor State Executive Council (EXCO) for the Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, and Rural Development.
The EXCO office shared with us that they had collected feedback on CSS’s ongoing work and were pleased that it was positive and inspiring.
The meeting concluded that with the support of the State EXCO and existing CSS partners like CSS Smallholder Association PERTANIAGA, UTHM, and other relevant agencies from the state, CSS should expand its effort and outreach to other districts in Johor, and two new districts were suggested.
The State office also posted this update on their Facebook page at: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0SHEuS4v2
The CSS delegation was led by Dr. Asad Ata, with CSS managers leading various CSS initiatives. Dr. Siti Najaa, from ASB’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC), participated in this meeting. She presented the scope of IEC and shared the potential for a collaborative digitalization of the plantation project with CSS. This initiative would involve leveraging technologies like IoT and precision agriculture through an Innovation Challenge, engaging ASB students, alumni, and beyond.