BASF signs future-oriented partnership supporting Indonesian smallholders in sustainable palm cultivation

BASF, alongside a leading company for natural cosmetics, has partnered with Indonesian non-profit organization Kaleka to support the sustainable management of palm and palm kernel oil production in Indonesia. The smallholder project will be implemented by Kaleka and will follow a jurisdictional approach. Over the next one and a half years, all three partners aim to promote sustainable land use in Selunuk Village in the Seruyan District in Central Kalimantan and to involve local authorities in the active management of the project.

Regenerative agriculture in smallholder oil palm farms

The project partners support the creation of policies and regulations to replicate and scale up regenerative agriculture and ensure living wages through legal certification. The aim is to certify 200 hectares of land to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO) Smallholder Standard in the first and second years of the project, thereby supporting 100 farmers in the long term. These farmers will benefit not only from the technical know-how and improved framework conditions, but also from the social and economic benefits through ongoing training in the implementation and maintenance of sustainable palm oil practices.

″This partnership is an important step forward on our journey towards sustainable palm,″ said Jutta Stute, Sustainability Manager Personal Care, BASF. ″If palm oil is produced in a sustainable and future-proof way, it can actually help solve serious challenges for farmers and the environment.″

″We are delighted to be part of this unique partnership where BASF and its partner directly support smallholder farmers in the Seruyan District of Central Kalimantan to achieve sustainability″, said Venticia Hukom, Managing Director of Kaleka. ″For Kaleka, this partnership is an acknowledgment of the efforts that are put together by the district government of Seruyan to achieve sustainable palm oil.″

The partnership with Kaleka is just one recent example of how the company’s Care Chemicals Division is addressing future challenges. Sustainability, digitalization, innovation and new approaches to working together are the key cornerstones to Care 360°– Solutions for Sustainable Life.