Smallholders

Scheme-smallholder programmes

When it undertakes a new development, the Group enters into an agreement with the local community to provide land planted with oil palms. This is done through a co-operative scheme, whose members are eligible individuals in nearby villages.

The Group now supports more than 12,500 members under the scheme. In 2025, scheme smallholders produced 299,500 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches, up from 285,900 tonnes in 2024, reflecting their growing productivity and alignment with the Group’s success.

In the early stages, once the co-operative scheme has received official land titles, the Group loans them the finance to plant these areas, and further provides guarantees to banks enabling the co-operative to obtain its own bank finance. Amounts due to the Group, which can be substantial, are repaid out of the co-operatives own bank borrowings or profits. The Group provides working capital funding to the co-operative so that it can pay a modest dividend to its members once harvesting begins even though the co-operative is not at this point yet making profit.

Scheme-smallholder hectarage follows the same sustainability standards and certification as the Group’s own areas. Maps of scheme-smallholder land are submitted to the RSPO in the same way as for the Group’s own land. By the end of 2025, 62% (almost 12,200 hectares) of scheme-smallholder land associated with the Group had achieved RSPO certification.

The Group manages the co-operative schemes on behalf of their members and buys their fresh fruit bunches at a price set by the provincial Indonesian government. This has been a successful way of engendering goodwill with the community in and around the Group’s areas of operation, as well as providing it with a tangible and remunerative business which is owned by them.

Supporting independent smallholders

The Group facilitates the inclusion of independent smallholders in sustainable palm-oil value chains. By sharing knowledge, best practices, and agronomic techniques, we aim to support smallholders in improving their yields, which are usually much less than those achieved by commercial operators.

For several years, the Group has been providing training and administrative support to help independent smallholders in Bangka to meet the requirements for certification under the RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard. Over time, the Group has progressively increased the number of independent smallholders supported by the programme. By the end of 2025, 647 farmers had successfully achieved RSPO certification, enabling them to attain additional revenue for the sale of their RSPO-certified fresh fruit bunches.

Updated August 2026