Four Purposes of Issuance of Presidential Regulation on ISPO

THE government is planning to enact Presidential Regulation (Perpres) in trying to strengthen implementation of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO). Currently, ISPO is regulated by a set of regulation issued by agriculture minister. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said that ISPO is currently regulated by Agriculture Minister Regulation No. 19/Permentan/OT.140/3/2011. The President will issue Perpres on the ISPO in the near future. “We need a balanced standard and it has to be institutionalized to make sure the mechanism works well in ISPO. In this case, we need an independent, transparent, comprehensive, and coordinated institution,” Darmin said in Jakarta, (12/12/2018). There are at least four primary purposes in issuing a Perpres to strengthen ISPO. Firstly, to make sure sustainable practices are well implemented in palm oil sector. Secondly, to increase scale of economic, social culture, and environmental quality. In the third place, to increase Indonesian palm oil competitiveness. Finally, to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and Intended Nationally Determine Contribution (INDC). According to Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture at Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs Musdhalifah Machmud, ISPO will adopt grading system to palm oil companies in order to monitor the performance of plantations operated by private companies, smallholders, and plasma farmers. Under the new system, they are expected to improve their performance to earn ISPO certificates. *** (Source: Kemenko Perekonomian)