Measures to promote sustainable palm oil practices among countries

A meeting between the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) and the Palm Oil Industry Association (POIA) of Sri Lanka was held recently at the CPOPC headquarters at Jakarta Indonesia.

This gathering symbolizes a significant step towards strengthening cooperation and addressing common challenges facing the palm oil industry. The primary objective of the meeting was to enhance collaboration between CPOPC and POIA in promoting sustainable palm oil practices and how to overcome the challenges faced by the Oil Palm industry in Sri Lanka. During the discussion significant focus was placed on the importance of adopting and promoting sustainable palm oil production methods.

Both organizations acknowledged the importance of training and capacity-building programs. Plans were made to organize workshops aimed at educating local farmers, specifically the smallholder in Sri Lanka who are keen to commence Oil Palm cultivation, since Oil Palm gives the highest income from a land area when compared to other commercial crops. Furthermore, both organizations recognized the importance of ongoing communication and agreed to hold regular meetings to align their actions and share best practices. They also aim to engage stakeholders from other sectors, including environmental organizations and government ensuring that the palm oil industry thrives for generations to come.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to work collaboratively towards achieving sustainability goals within the palm oil industry. The representatives agreed to establish a joint working group that will oversee the implementation of discussed strategies and monitor progress.

Dr Rizal Affandi Lukman Secretary General, Witjaksana Darmosarkoro, Director Sustainability and Smallholders, Dr. Puah Chiew Wei represented the CPOPC and Sanjeewa Dissanayake Chief Operating Officer Agalawatta PLC, Albet Peries General Manager Lalan Rubber and Yajith de Silva Chief Operating Officer POIA attended the meeting on behalf of the POIA.