IPB and Cargill to set up Indonesia’s first oil palm teaching farm

(from left to right) John Hartmann - COO, Cargill Tropical Palm; Angeline Ooi - CEO, Cargill Tropical Palm; Dr Rismansyah - director of plantation crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia; Prof Dr Herry Suhardiyanto - rector, IPB; and Jean Louis Guillou - country head, Cargill Indonesia

Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB, also known as Bogor Agricultural University) and international food producer Cargill announced a collaboration to build Indonesia’s first oil palm teaching farm on July 18th 2012. The teaching farm, which is a scaled-down commercial oil palm plantation, is located in the Jonggol sub-district of Bogor in Java, Indonesia.

Cargill will contribute US$250,000 (Rp 2.355 billion) to the construction of the oil palm teaching farm as part of the agreement.

The farm, named the “IPB-Cargill Kebun Pendidikan Kelapa Sawit” (IPB-Cargill Oil Palm Teaching Farm), will enable research in the plantation sector. IPB, with guidance from Cargill, will carry out at least two research projects annually using sustainable resources.

It will also serve as a training ground for the university’s students and Cargill’s staff by providing quality industrial training on the latest plantation production and management techniques, as well as a reference for other palm oil companies in the application for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification.

Cargill Tropical Palm chief executive officer Angeline Ooi says: “We are proud to be setting an industry-leading example with this partnership, the first-ever initiative between a commercial oil palm grower and an educational institution. This is a demonstration of the significant role played by education in realising next generation industry experts who appreciate and understand the importance of sustainable practices in palm oil. These future professionals will help to further industry standards on palm oil sustainability.”