From 24 to 25 April 2016, the CSSPO consortium team visited oil palm independent smallholders in Trang and Krabi, Hat Yai, Thailand. These smallholders consist of RSPO-certified and will-be-RSPO certified smallholders.

The visited smallholders are partnered with palm oil mills and trained by a team from Prince of Songkla University (PSU). The government fully funds the three-year training program. Initially, the program did not focus on certification. It was aimed at increasing the productivity of oil palm smallholders, which in turn would increase income. To do so, smallholders were trained to apply Best Management Practice (BMP).

After the field trip, the consortium coordinator (Diana Chalil) met with a consortium member from UPM (Shaufique F. Siddique) to discuss the possibility of joint research and other activities as planned in the roadmap.

Picture with Smallholders and Mill Owner in Pitak Palm Oil Co. Ltd

Picture with Smallholders in United Palm Oil Industry Public Company

Visit to a Certified Smallholding

Discussion on Joint Research and Other Roadmap Activities