Cargill Establishes Smallholder Coconut Farmer Development Program in Indonesia

PT. Cargill Indonesia, in partnership with Winrock International, is donating 20,000 high quality coconut seedlings to 200 smallholder coconut famers in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

25 Feb 2013 --- The program is designed to help local smallholder coconut farmers achieve higher incomes by providing more productive coconut seedlings, donating organic fertilizer and conducting free local training on good agronomic practices and postharvest handling.

“Cargill is committed to helping smallholders in the North Sulawesi region improve their livelihoods and the economic opportunities of coconut farming,” said Lindung Samosir, plant manager of Cargill’s coconut processing plant in Amurang.

On February 23, 2013, local officials and smallholders joined Cargill and Winrock International at a ceremony in Amurang to hand over the first seedlings for this year’s program. Winrock International will serve as the key program partner for this project and help to develop and deliver training programs to farmers in the region.

“Winrock International is pleased to partner Cargill to deliver high quality seedlings and training to coconut farmers in South Minahasa, North Sulawesi. This important collaboration will build the capacity of the local government to provide coconut farmers with services and training that will directly increase their productivity,” said David Norman, vice president of Enterprise & Agriculture, Winrock International. “The expected outcome is increased farmer knowledge of improved agricultural practices, resulting in improved yields, higher incomes and sustainable livelihoods.”

The program also will collaborate with government agencies in the region including the local government of South Minahasa, the local plantation office, the relevant government agencies, and the Indonesian Palm Research Center (Balitpalma). The program uses a three-pronged approach, by providing smallholders free access to improved varieties of coconut seedlings with higher drought tolerance and fungi resistance for replanting; training smallholders in good agricultural practices consisting of improved agronomic techniques, integrated pest management and postharvest management; and providing farmers with organic fertilizers.
“I’m so grateful for what Cargill has done,” said Yantje Rembang, coconut farmer. “This kind of donation is really helpful for me and I believe other farmers feel the same. We still need seedlings to be planted in our plantation in order to replace the old ones, especially around my area where there are many coconut trees that need to be replanted. This is a really good program and hopefully Cargill will continue with it.”

“We really support what Cargill has done for the farmers, who are currently suffering from the decrease in copra price,” said George Umpel, head of North Sulawesi’s Coconut Farmers Association, the Asosiasi Petani Kelapa Sulawesi Utara (APEKSU). “This effort will be able to help the farmers and the government keep up the population of coconut trees. The presence of Cargill in this area is really bringing a positive impact to the community of South Minahasa.”

This program expands and builds upon Cargill’s seedling distribution program from 2011, where 10,000 seedlings were donated in the region. Coconut farming has been an important cash crop for the North Sulawesi economy for the past several decades. Copra, the dried kernel of the coconut, is used in the production of coconut oil. The North Sulawesi region has the largest coconut plantation acreage in Indonesia, with 70 percent of the area owned by smallholders. However, coconut production in North Sulawesi has decreased by 60 percent in the last five years. The North Sulawesi Plantation Department estimates that 40 percent of coconut trees are around 60 years old, at the end of their productive cycle, hence providing smallholders with high quality coconut seedlings to replant is especially essential in this region.