TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Forty-six companies have obtained the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Certificate, which was handed by the Director General of Plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday.

The Director General of Plantations, Gamal Nasir, said the aim of the certification was to assure that oil palm plantation companies and palm oil businesses implement the ISPO principles and criteria correctly and consistently with regards to producing sustainable palm oil.

"Since the implementation of the Agriculture Ministers Regulation Number 19 of 2015 on March 29, 2011 until August 2015, a total of 96 ISPO certificates have been distributed, covering an area of 1.16 million hectares and involving 5.57 million tons of production a year," he said.

Until now, a total of 142 ISPO certificates have been awarded to oil palm plantation companies.

The implementation of ISPO certification is compulsory for companies that develop oil palm plantations and integrate processing in the operation, as well as companies that only operate plantations and companies that run processing of plantation production.

ISPO certification for small holders and plasma farmers, as well as a replanting program are implemented by the Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPS), he said.

Gamal further said to support the implementation of the certification 12 by ISPO certification, four ISPO consultancies and one ISPO auditor training agency had been set up.

The number of oil palm plantation companies that have applied or are applying for the certificate has reached 562.

"Compliance of ISPO provisions will have a serious impact on the palm oil industry in Indonesia," he said.

The General Chairman of the Indonesia Palm Oil Business Association (GAPKI), Joko Supriyono, said he hoped the government would accelerate the ISPO certification process.

Regarding hurdles in the effort, the Director of PT Mutu Agung Lestari, which is an ISPO certification institution, Arifin Lambaga, referred to the environment licensing process existing at the regional level and land use rights (HGU).

"If an agreement can be made with the regional governments to speed up, the process of certification will be faster," he said.

In response to this, Gamal said multiple efforts have been made to expedite the process, including improving the awareness of companies about the importance of the ISPO certificate and preparing ISPO auditors, as well as coordination with and roles of regional governments.

ANTARA