Palm oil producer to offer sustainable farming support

21-Mar-2018 - Last updated on 21-Mar-2018 at 15:36 GMT

IOI Loders Croklaan is partnering with Kerry Group to help farmers in the region of Sabah

A Dutch palm oil producer has teamed up with a dairy ingredients firm to support small farmers in Malaysia.

IOI Loders Croklaan is partnering with Kerry Group to help farmers in the region of Sabah to implement sustainable agricultural practices.

Working alongside social enterprise Wild Asia, the two firms will guide farmers toward achieving staged compliance to IOI’s Sustainable Palm Policy, as well as help them prepare for certification requirements.

Not Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certified

The project has identified potential participating mills that are not Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certified. The mills support around 5,000 smallholders and small growers.

“We will start with one mill – Fortuna – and will increase the number as we go on,” says Ben Vreeburg, sustainability director at IOI. “Smallholders will see a decrease in fresh fruit bunch [FFB] production costs in the first year and a gradual increase in FFB yield in the second year.”

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