PROJECT TREE Sustainability Activity Quarterly Report (July to September 2021)

Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, we made good progress in implementing our PROJECT TREE action plan during the reference period.

The SNV-ABP field team has been deployed to two sites in South Sumatra and Jambi in July 2021 to start addressing smallholders’ needs (Better Management Practice Training & Mentoring) and Mitigating Risks to be conducted as part of the first cycle of the Responsible Sourcing from Smallholders (RSS) program which is part of the basic framework of PROJECT TREE.
The team in Jambi has delivered a series of training sessions and conducted awareness raising activities while the team in South Sumatra was unable to start the activities due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.
The team decided to coordinate with the village authorities to determine a suitable time to kick start the action plan in the village.
Modules provided include Rubber Tapping, Processing and storage of rubber, and Plantation maintenance.
Elements of risk mitigation have been integrated in the training program, for instance:
- raising awareness of the prohibition against land preparation through burning, proper chemical usage and pollution reduction, the value of and need to maintain biodiversity in the plantations;
- encouraging the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) e.g. masks and gloves when conducting spraying activities; and
- Collaboration with local dealers to distribute formic acid, a recommended quality-enhancing coagulant.

We conducted Risk Mitigation and Smallholder Needs Activities within the framework of RSS. Risk Mitigation Activities cover 6 aspects:

1. Land legality (issues relating to the ownership of land)
2. Deforestation and Peat
3. Labour Conditions & Children’s Rights
4. Quality of Rubber Materials
5. Waste management/pollution reduction
6. Traceability

In addition, we held a one-day training session on modern slavery for our SNV-ABP field team.

Introduce better agricultural material

Fertilization

Class for nursery tree

Class for tapping method

Since July 2021, our SNV-ABP field team has been conducting Smallholder Needs Activities on the South Sumatra and Jambi sites. 77 farmers in South Sumatra and 76 farmers in Jambi have undergone training in Better Management Practices for natural rubber production.