Asia School of Business

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Achieving Sustainable Development Goals – An NDPE and Certification Strategy for Independent Smallholder Farmers for Oil Palm

By : Asad Ata, Kee En Lim, Vasagi Ramachandran, Yusof Nursaiyidah, Muhilan Ratnam

February 21, 2024

Millions of smallholders depend on palm oil for their livelihoods, but their adaptation to sustainable agriculture practices are hindered by access to resources, knowledge, and awareness of sustainability. Addressing these challenges required an integrated approach to engaging in complex sustainability issues while empowering stakeholders. The Center for Sustainable Small-owners (CSS) was established to facilitate and empower Independent Smallholders (ISH) in promoting ethical and responsible production of oil palm with a commitment to no deforestation, no new plantation on peatlands, and no exploitation (NDPE) in the supply chain. The CSS approach is to execute it through two strategies i.e., empowering communities, ensuring sustainability through certification and compliance building farmer associations to safeguard their interests, and sourcing responsibly ensuring ethical and sustainable oil palm production while improving livelihoods through yield intensification. The research aims to demonstrate how through such initiatives CSS has been able to support sustainable development goals (SDG). Through the following six activities viz. Traceability and Verification, Training, Certification and Compliance, Livelihood Improvement, Community Development, and Monitoring and Guidance. CSS contributes directly to SDG 2, 8, 12, 15, and 17.