ILHAM smallholder program update: Best Management Practices workshop

On 31 July 2019, Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) successfully organized its first Best Management Practice (BMP) workshop for smallholders participating in the ILHAM smallholder program. The event was organized in collaboration with our program partners Kilang Kelapa Sawit Fortuna, IOI Group, and Kerry Group.

The workshop was held at the Fortuna clubhouse, with around 50 participating smallholders. Opening remarks by Alvin Leong, Executive Director of Kilang Kelapa Sawit Fortuna, were followed by a presentation from Dean Ismail of Bunge Loders Croklaan. Dean presented an analysis of the smallholder data that had been collected over the past year.

The BMP workshop kicked off with representatives from the IOI Group Research and sustainability team, who provided input on methods to apply fertilizer effectively, followed by ways to determine nutrient deficiency in palm trees, proper handling of chemical storage, use of personal protective equipment, and lastly, an update on the MSPO certification.
It was encouraging to see the smallholders interest in this program. All smallholders signed the letter that was distributed during registration, committing to the program.

BLC also took this opportunity to share the results of the recent soil and foliar analysis, and to officially launch the bio-fertilizer program. A subsidy of about 65% will be provided to all smallholders that purchase the specially formulated bio-fertilizers. This formulation is based on the results of the soil and foliar sampling.