Jakarta 16 November 2021 — More women need to be included in the decision-making process of Indonesia’s sustainable palm oil industry, experts and key players agreed on Tuesday at the launch of a gender-responsive policy brief in the sustainable palm oil sector. The launching was hosted by Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture,  and the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (MoWECP),  in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The launch, entitled “Acceleration of Sustainable Palm Oil Development through Gender Responsive Policies,” was facilitated by UNDP’s Sustainable Palm Oil (SPOI) project, a partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture. 

The policy brief incorporates the principle of non-discrimination into the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Plantation (ISPO) Certification, a mandatory requirement for all oil palm growers and millers operating in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil products.

Ensuring gender equality in policy frameworks can accelerate the process of achieving sustainable palm oil, while also addressing other concerns including environmental issues and human rights.

"The Ministerial Regulation aims to have a positive impact on the community in economic, social and environmental aspects, including for women farmer groups. It is essential that these policies are implemented to ensure the sector considers women’s voices at all levels,” said Ir. Dedi Junaedi, Director of Processing and Marketing of Plantation Products, at the Ministry of Agriculture, who also heads the Secretariat for the Implementation Team of the National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil (RAN KSB).

Dr. Musdhalifah Machmud, Deputy for Food and Agribusiness, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs noted that the National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil (NAP SPO), will contribute to efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particularly for Gender Equality.

"NAP SPO shall be the opportunity to bring about the sustainable and equitable palm oil, through a gender equality approach," explained Dr. Musdhalifah.

Similarly, Dra. Lenny Rosalin, Deputy for Gender Equality, MoWECP also said that the Ministry has committed to implementing gender mainstreaming in all lines, including the plantation sector, especially for palm oil commodities.

"The use of gender-disaggregated data in the palm oil sector can automatically improve various social and economic indicators, such as the Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, Gender Empowerment Index, to the Labor Force Participation Rate," Lenny added.

“We cannot achieve true development unless we provide equal opportunity and walk the talk on gender equality. We are pleased to see the release of this gender policy brief because it will assist the sustainable palm oil industry in being more accountable in terms of women's representation at all levels, especially in terms of decision-making. This way, we can be certain that no one is left behind said UNDP Indonesia Deputy Resident Representative, Sophie Kemkhadze.

Gender-responsive policies in the sustainable palm oil industry must be continuously promoted, because they can have a positive impact beyond social aspects, such as the environment and economy. Therefore, that gender-responsive policies must be viewed as one of the strategies to accelerate the process of strengthening sustainable palm oil in Indonesia.

According to the Palm Oil Smallholders Union (SPKS) women make 86 percent of the labor force in the palm oil production cycle, working in supply chain activities such as fertilizing, weeding, spraying, and collecting palm oil fruit.

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MEDIA CONTACTS

UNDP Indonesia, Communication and Knowledge Exchange Officer for SPOI, Agus Hekso Proklamanto, agus.proklamanto@undp.org.

UNDP Indonesia Communication Specialist, Tomi Soetjipto, suryo.tomi@undp.org.